Crane and Tower Operators Salaries by State

Q: How much do crane and tower operators make in the U.S.?

The median crane and tower operators salary in the United States is $68,080 per year (mean $72,130), and about 80% earn between $42,640 and $103,570.

Q: How much do crane and tower operators make per hour?

Roughly $35 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $72,130 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays crane and tower operators the most?

Hawaii has the highest average pay for crane and tower operators at $119,300 per year (median $124,260).

Q: What is the job outlook for crane and tower operators?

Employment is projected to change +3% from 2024 to 2034 (About as fast as average), with about 3,800 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for crane and tower operatorss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $72,130 ≈ $35/hr

National median salary $68,080

Total employment 42,890 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +3% About as fast as average

Annual openings 3,800 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 42,300 → 43,500 (+1,300)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $45,000–$63,000 $63,000–$66,000 $66,000–$71,000 $71,000–$85,000 $85,000–$119,000 U.S. mean $72,130

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Hawaii$119,300
New York$115,400
Nevada$108,410
New Jersey$102,380
Washington$101,600

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Arkansas$45,160
West Virginia$54,450
Mississippi$56,090
Indiana$57,330
Alabama$61,170

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Hawaii	$119,300	$124,260	$57	+65.4%	190
2	New York	$115,400	$85,850	$55	+60%	1,150
3	Nevada	$108,410	$115,840	$52	+50.3%	380
4	New Jersey	$102,380	$100,640	$49	+41.9%	1,000
5	Washington	$101,600	$101,110	$49	+40.9%	1,030
6	Massachusetts	$100,260	$98,150	$48	+39%	680
7	Rhode Island	$99,690	$104,340	$48	+38.2%	—
8	Alaska	$91,790	$92,490	$44	+27.3%	50
9	Oregon	$91,780	$83,260	$44	+27.2%	340
10	California	$87,030	$79,570	$42	+20.7%	2,130
11	Minnesota	$85,490	$80,930	$41	+18.5%	370
12	Maryland	$82,070	$87,950	$39	+13.8%	—
13	Montana	$81,740	$82,800	$39	+13.3%	30
14	North Dakota	$79,800	$82,890	$38	+10.6%	180
15	Wyoming	$79,180	$77,970	$38	+9.8%	230
16	Connecticut	$79,050	$81,360	$38	+9.6%	220
17	Colorado	$76,030	$77,120	$37	+5.4%	470
18	Vermont	$75,930	$72,760	$37	+5.3%	170
19	Kansas	$73,110	$77,100	$35	+1.4%	780
20	Wisconsin	$72,660	$67,720	$35	+0.7%	440
21	Florida	$71,460	$71,560	$34	-0.9%	2,570
22	Illinois	$71,380	$61,820	$34	-1%	1,220
23	Utah	$70,970	$67,410	$34	-1.6%	440
24	South Dakota	$70,560	$71,000	$34	-2.2%	120
25	Arizona	$70,260	$67,350	$34	-2.6%	930
26	Texas	$69,650	$73,280	$33	-3.4%	6,010
27	Pennsylvania	$68,580	$65,190	$33	-4.9%	1,630
28	Michigan	$68,230	$59,740	$33	-5.4%	1,310
29	Iowa	$67,390	$67,600	$32	-6.6%	650
30	Virginia	$66,470	$66,600	$32	-7.8%	1,120
31	Maine	$66,340	$65,690	$32	-8%	360
32	Oklahoma	$66,120	$63,590	$32	-8.3%	620
33	South Carolina	$65,890	$64,120	$32	-8.7%	720
34	North Carolina	$65,620	$64,480	$32	-9%	1,050
35	Idaho	$65,560	$52,770	$32	-9.1%	—
36	New Hampshire	$65,170	$63,310	$31	-9.6%	170
37	Missouri	$63,850	$58,450	$31	-11.5%	630
38	Kentucky	$63,750	$62,000	$31	-11.6%	640
39	New Mexico	$63,550	$62,400	$31	-11.9%	290
40	Louisiana	$63,380	$61,170	$30	-12.1%	1,930
41	Tennessee	$63,250	$59,410	$30	-12.3%	660
42	Ohio	$63,000	$57,620	$30	-12.7%	1,780
43	Delaware	$62,330	$60,160	$30	-13.6%	220
44	Georgia	$62,240	$62,050	$30	-13.7%	1,370
45	Nebraska	$61,510	$60,720	$30	-14.7%	410
46	Alabama	$61,170	$60,790	$29	-15.2%	1,280
47	Indiana	$57,330	$52,950	$28	-20.5%	2,300
48	Mississippi	$56,090	$61,260	$27	-22.2%	550
49	West Virginia	$54,450	$54,830	$26	-24.5%	170
50	Arkansas	$45,160	$41,600	$22	-37.4%	880

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 229 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$131,690	$115,300	—
2	Worcester, MA	$122,260	$109,460	110
3	Urban Honolulu, HI	$120,560	$118,530	170
4	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$120,310	$111,710	40
5	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$116,840	$108,550	70
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$114,330	$105,010	570
7	Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area	$109,360	$97,020	60
8	Reno, NV	$101,160	$92,320	—
9	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$100,640	$116,710	1,500
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$99,540	$92,950	180

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing crane and tower operatorss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Rental and Leasing Services	$113,900	$105,950	1,760
2	Sector 53 - Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	$113,900	$106,040	1,770
3	Rental and Leasing Services (5322, 5323, and 5324 only)	$113,900	$105,950	1,760
4	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$110,270	$110,910	80
5	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$110,270	$110,910	80
6	Utilities	$104,980	$108,080	110
7	Sector 22 - Utilities	$104,980	$108,080	110
8	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$95,150	$98,460	70
9	Chemical Manufacturing	$90,010	$77,380	50
10	Chemical Manufacturing (3251, 3252, 3253, and 3259 only)	$90,010	$77,380	50
11	Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors	$88,350	$86,150	110
12	Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation	$86,490	$84,030	30

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

10,385

$10-20k

1,069

$20-30k

2,074

$30-40k

5,501

$40-50k

9,292

$50-60k

7,487

$60-70k

7,870

$70-80k

7,946

$80-90k

6,406

$90-100k

4,154

$100-110k

7,288

$110-120k

1,965

$120-130k

1,779

$130-140k

1,477

$140-150k

754

$150-160k

921

$160-170k

$170-180k

265

$180-190k

$190-200k

$200k+

2,200

Pay by age band

16-24

$55,385

25-34

$62,968

35-44

$82,903

45-54

$83,494

55-64

$68,757

65+

$37,826

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$69,210

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$86,201

GED or alternative credential

$75,244

Some college, but less than 1 year

$91,425

Associates Degree

$76,751

12th grade - no diploma

$47,890

Grade 11

$44,591

Bachelors Degree

$67,148

Grade 10

$40,951

Grade 8

$55,012

Grade 9

$71,716

No schooling completed

$37,297

Grade 7

$61,171

Grade 6

$35,704

Masters Degree

$61,171

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

67,122 · $80,962

Part-time

1,566 · $36,735

Race / ethnicity

White

$67,678

Black

$77,730

Two or More Races

$69,920

Other

$81,932

American Indian

$79,288

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

$105,931

Asian

$47,866

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$13,267

Top fields of study

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection

$78,285

Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure

$80,461

Theology And Religious Vocations

$56,073

Economics

$35,683

Philosophy And Religious Studies

$61,171

General Education

$67,753

General Business

$7,226

Psychology

$71,366

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Operation and Control

3.9

Operations Monitoring

3.8

Critical Thinking

3.3

Active Listening

3.1

Monitoring

3.1

Reading Comprehension

3.0

Speaking

3.0

Time Management

3.0

Judgment and Decision Making

3.0

Troubleshooting

2.9

Equipment Maintenance

2.9

Repairing

2.9

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do crane and tower operators make in the U.S.?

The median crane and tower operators salary in the United States is $68,080 per year (mean $72,130), and about 80% earn between $42,640 and $103,570.

How much do crane and tower operators make per hour?

Roughly $35 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $72,130 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays crane and tower operators the most?

Hawaii has the highest average pay for crane and tower operators at $119,300 per year (median $124,260).

What is the job outlook for crane and tower operators?

Employment is projected to change +3% from 2024 to 2034 (About as fast as average), with about 3,800 openings per year.