Construction & Extraction

Explosives Workers & Blasters

SOC 47-5032

Set and detonate explosives for mining and demolition.

The job

Median pay

$61k

$50k to $80k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Stable

0.0% projected

Openings a year

400

BLS projection

Typical education

High school

Our model

AI displacement risk

Low

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

9/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

17th pct

More exposed than 17% of occupations · modeled estimate · 7th pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

52/100

Take the next step

Weigh it against Derrick & Rotary Drill OperatorsPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostNorth Carolina leads at $86k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Explosives Workers & Blasters and explore its neighbours See open jobsExplosives Workers & Blasters roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Explosives Workers & Blasters, who lean most on active listening Real pay & reviewsWhat Explosives Workers & Blasters say they actually earn

Key skills

Active Listening
Monitoring
Critical Thinking
Speaking
Reading Comprehension
Active Learning

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Texas	460	0.0	1.0×	$57k
Kentucky	380	0.2	5.8×	$50k
Indiana	330	0.1	3.1×	$59k
Oklahoma	330	0.2	5.9×	$55k
Nevada	260	0.2	5.1×	$61k
New York	254	0.0	0.8×	$97k~
California	220	0.0	0.4×	$80k
Pennsylvania	174	0.0	0.9×	$84k~
North Carolina	160	0.0	1.0×	$86k
Missouri	150	0.1	1.6×	$64k

All 51 states

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Colorado	140	0.0	1.5×	$70k
Arizona	138	0.0	1.3×	$60k~
Washington	133	0.0	1.1×	$78k~
Louisiana	130	0.1	2.0×	$40k
Michigan	128	0.0	0.9×	$63k~
Ohio	120	0.0	0.7×	$47k
Hawaii	110	0.2	5.3×	$65k
Illinois	110	0.0	0.6×	$61k
Massachusetts	106	0.0	0.9×	$80k~
Alabama	100	0.0	1.4×	$60k
New Jersey	100	0.0	0.7×	$101k~
Minnesota	97	0.0	1.0×	$75k~
Arkansas	90	0.1	2.1×	$53k
Florida	90	0.0	0.3×	$70k
Iowa	90	0.1	1.8×	$40k
Maryland	89	0.0	1.0×	$60k~
New Mexico	80	0.1	2.8×	$79k
Virginia	80	0.0	0.6×	$64k
Georgia	70	0.0	0.4×	$61k
Oregon	70	0.0	1.1×	$68k~
Tennessee	70	0.0	0.7×	$74k
South Carolina	68	0.0	0.9×	$51k~
Wisconsin	60	0.0	0.6×	$52k
Wyoming	60	0.2	6.5×	$85k
Utah	50	0.0	0.9×	$68k
West Virginia	50	0.1	2.2×	$50k
Kansas	49	0.0	1.0×	$57k~
Idaho	45	0.1	1.6×	$60k~
Connecticut	41	0.0	0.7×	$74k~
Mississippi	40	0.0	1.1×	$47k
Nebraska	40	0.0	1.2×	$55k~
North Dakota	28	0.1	2.0×	$63k~
Maine	26	0.0	1.2×	$62k~
Montana	25	0.0	1.5×	$63k~
South Dakota	21	0.0	1.4×	$57k~
New Hampshire	20	0.0	0.9×	$62k~
Alaska	17	0.1	1.6×	$78k~
Delaware	15	0.0	0.9×	$61k~
Rhode Island	14	0.0	0.8×	$65k~
Vermont	11	0.0	1.1×	$62k~
Washington DC	10	0.0	0.4×	$72k~

Top metro areas

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX180 jobs · $56k median
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ120 jobs · $101k median
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX90 jobs · $45k median
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO80 jobs · $70k median
Urban Honolulu, HI80 jobs · $67k median
Bakersfield-Delano, CA60 jobs · $92k median
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC60 jobs · $87k median
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN60 jobs · $27k median

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.