Start with the answer
Continuous Mining Machine Operators pay in Colorado and Minnesota
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Continuous Mining Machine Operators is $81,110 per year in Colorado. It is $90,820 per year in Minnesota. Colorado is 10.7% below Minnesota on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-5041 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 290 wage and salary jobs in Colorado and 420 in Minnesota. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
