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Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other pay in Alaska and Illinois
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other is $106,840 per year in Alaska. It is $72,800 per year in Illinois. Alaska is 46.8% above Illinois on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-5049 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 70 wage and salary jobs in Alaska and 70 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