Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
47-5023 Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
National estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Industry profile for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Geographic profile for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
National estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 15,800 |
4.1 % |
$ 25.77 |
$ 53,600 |
1.1 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 17.74 |
$ 21.05 |
$ 23.20 |
$ 29.25 |
$ 37.09 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 36,910 |
$ 43,780 |
$ 48,250 |
$ 60,830 |
$ 77,160 |
Industry profile for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Utility System Construction |
7,120 |
1.32 |
$ 25.04 |
$ 52,090 |
| Support Activities for Mining |
1,940 |
0.91 |
$ 27.62 |
$ 57,450 |
| Other Specialty Trade Contractors |
1,440 |
0.20 |
$ 26.73 |
$ 55,590 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
1,030 |
0.07 |
$ 24.04 |
$ 50,000 |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying |
910 |
0.95 |
$ 24.74 |
$ 51,450 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Top paying industries for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Geographic profile for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
2,250 |
0.18 |
1.64 |
$ 24.37 |
$ 50,690 |
| California |
1,250 |
0.08 |
0.68 |
$ 28.60 |
$ 59,480 |
| Florida |
790 |
0.09 |
0.82 |
$ 21.78 |
$ 45,310 |
| Virginia |
660 |
0.18 |
1.58 |
$ 23.89 |
$ 49,680 |
| Pennsylvania |
660 |
0.12 |
1.06 |
$ 23.22 |
$ 48,300 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
290 |
0.99 |
8.79 |
$ 33.47 |
$ 69,610 |
| Montana |
250 |
0.54 |
4.82 |
$ 27.56 |
$ 57,320 |
| Nevada |
470 |
0.37 |
3.27 |
$ 28.10 |
$ 58,440 |
| New Hampshire |
200 |
0.31 |
2.77 |
$ 27.81 |
$ 57,840 |
| Idaho |
230 |
0.30 |
2.67 |
$ 23.54 |
$ 48,960 |
Top paying states for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
290 |
0.99 |
8.79 |
$ 33.47 |
$ 69,610 |
| Massachusetts |
280 |
0.08 |
0.74 |
$ 33.12 |
$ 68,900 |
| New York |
580 |
0.07 |
0.60 |
$ 33.08 |
$ 68,800 |
| Illinois |
180 |
0.03 |
0.28 |
$ 32.18 |
$ 66,940 |
| Louisiana |
150 |
0.09 |
0.76 |
$ 31.51 |
$ 65,540 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
580 |
0.07 |
0.60 |
$ 33.29 |
$ 69,250 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
380 |
0.18 |
1.59 |
$ 27.72 |
$ 57,660 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
290 |
0.11 |
0.96 |
$ 25.20 |
$ 52,420 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
220 |
0.08 |
0.75 |
$ 32.75 |
$ 68,110 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
190 |
0.11 |
0.96 |
$ 24.70 |
$ 51,370 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
180 |
0.08 |
0.67 |
$ 24.81 |
$ 51,600 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
180 |
0.12 |
1.07 |
$ 25.57 |
$ 53,180 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
170 |
0.06 |
0.52 |
$ 27.79 |
$ 57,810 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
170 |
0.22 |
2.00 |
$ 28.34 |
$ 58,950 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
160 |
0.17 |
1.55 |
$ 29.62 |
$ 61,610 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ |
40 |
1.04 |
9.23 |
$ 26.99 |
$ 56,140 |
| Winchester, VA-WV |
40 |
0.59 |
5.22 |
$ 24.01 |
$ 49,940 |
| Manchester, NH |
50 |
0.48 |
4.27 |
$ 28.14 |
$ 58,540 |
| Duluth, MN-WI |
60 |
0.47 |
4.21 |
$ 28.65 |
$ 59,600 |
| St. Cloud, MN |
40 |
0.44 |
3.95 |
$ 22.33 |
$ 46,450 |
| Greeley, CO |
40 |
0.42 |
3.75 |
$ 23.40 |
$ 48,670 |
| Midland, TX |
40 |
0.42 |
3.74 |
$ 27.65 |
$ 57,510 |
| Salisbury, MD-DE |
50 |
0.34 |
3.05 |
$ 22.66 |
$ 47,130 |
| Salem, OR |
50 |
0.27 |
2.45 |
$ 40.81 |
$ 84,890 |
| Port St. Lucie, FL |
40 |
0.26 |
2.31 |
$ 23.27 |
$ 48,410 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Salem, OR |
50 |
0.27 |
2.45 |
$ 40.81 |
$ 84,890 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
120 |
0.05 |
0.46 |
$ 34.24 |
$ 71,220 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
150 |
0.04 |
0.32 |
$ 34.18 |
$ 71,090 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
50 |
0.13 |
1.13 |
$ 33.52 |
$ 69,720 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
580 |
0.07 |
0.60 |
$ 33.29 |
$ 69,250 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
220 |
0.08 |
0.75 |
$ 32.75 |
$ 68,110 |
| Rochester, NY |
60 |
0.14 |
1.22 |
$ 29.82 |
$ 62,030 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
90 |
0.08 |
0.75 |
$ 29.77 |
$ 61,910 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
160 |
0.17 |
1.55 |
$ 29.62 |
$ 61,610 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
90 |
0.07 |
0.59 |
$ 29.31 |
$ 60,960 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
