Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,065
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$11,605
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,479
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$58,670
Kept after tax
$47,065
Worth in national money
$51,479
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 24 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $58,670. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 222 among 476 occupations Idaho publishes pay for.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,670 you keep $47,065, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,479 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,150, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Idaho ranks 24 of 49 for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining at $58,670. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 222 of 476 in Idaho places excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining on $58,670 is $47,065. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,479 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $58,150 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,750 |
| This salary | $58,670 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Idaho | $47,065 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,321 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$724 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $55,862 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$876 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Idaho earn less than $58,670. The published range is $47,060 up to $71,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $47,065, from $58,670, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 222 of 476 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,479 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 222.
- Reported values are medians; for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in Idaho the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,060 to $71,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,065 from $58,670. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 222 of 476 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,479, worked from $58,670, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Idaho address, on work sitting at 222 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,060 at the bottom tenth to $71,750 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $51,479.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $47,065 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,060 to $71,750) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $51,479 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $47,065 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.