Start with the answer
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas pay in Alaska and Kansas
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas is $106,480 per year in Alaska. It is $46,230 per year in Kansas. Alaska is 130.3% above Kansas on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-5013 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 1,090 wage and salary jobs in Alaska and 370 in Kansas. 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
