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Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines pay in Alaska and Illinois
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines is $82,670 per year in Alaska. It is $71,370 per year in Illinois. Alaska is 15.8% above Illinois on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 49-3042 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 1,430 wage and salary jobs in Alaska and 3,470 in Illinois. 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