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Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other pay in Alaska and Virginia
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other is $106,840 per year in Alaska. It is $61,990 per year in Virginia. Alaska is 72.4% above Virginia 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 50 in Virginia. 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