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Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers pay in Illinois and Tennessee
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers is $92,310 per year in Illinois. It is $52,120 per year in Tennessee. Illinois is 77.1% above Tennessee on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 53-7072 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 50 wage and salary jobs in Illinois and 80 in Tennessee. 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