The salary statistics of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters are shown in Table 1. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $33,440 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $39,690 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $48,510 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $60,190 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $73,650 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters is $73,650. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $48,510. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $33,440. Notice that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 120% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters from 2012 to 2020. Note that there is no salary data for some years between 2012 and 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Growth | 1-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $48,510 | 4.66% | 4.66% |
| 2019 | $46,250 | - | - |
The average salaries of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters in 11 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters occupations is the other services (except federal, state, and local government) sector with an annual salary $62,920. The lowest paying sector is the real estate and rental and leasing sector (annual salary $44,660).
From the above tables we note that not only earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters salaries vary considerably based on one's education and experience, and the industry sectors, they also change considerably from state to state. In the following table we compare the median salary of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters in all 50 states of the United States. We note that the median annual salaries range from $22,930 to $61,990. The highest paying state for earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters is Alaska with a median annual salary of $61,990. The lowest paying state is Puerto Rico with a median annual salary of $22,930. For more salary information of earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters profession in a specific state, use the links in the table.