Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Crane and Tower Operators
Crane and Tower Operators operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Crane and Tower Operators with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $34,170 to $44,270 per year or $16 to $21 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Crane and Tower Operators to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $46 | $95,820 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $37 | $76,190 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $29 | $59,710 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $21 | $44,270 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $16 | $34,170 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| RI | $42 | $86,630 |
| CA | $41 | $85,860 |
| DC | $39 | $80,250 |
| NV | $37 | $76,630 |
| WA | $37 | $76,580 |
| MA | $36 | $73,850 |
| AK | $34 | $71,490 |
| OR | $34 | $70,770 |
| NM | $34 | $70,700 |
| AZ | $34 | $69,930 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Crane and Tower Operator is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like RI doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at RI might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Crane and Tower Operators are in the states of RI, CA, DC, NV and WA.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $83880 | $40.33 |
| Other Specialty Trade Contractors | $77710 | $37.36 |
| Residential Building Construction | $76740 | $36.89 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction | $74750 | $35.94 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $74650 | $35.89 |
| Support Activities for Rail Transportation | $74230 | $35.69 |
| Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | $73990 | $35.57 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | $73040 | $35.12 |
| Support Activities for Mining | $71960 | $34.60 |
| Metal Ore Mining | $70260 | $33.78 |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $70210 | $33.75 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal | $70150 | $33.73 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $69430 | $33.38 |
| Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction | $68780 | $33.07 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors | $68390 | $32.88 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services | $68010 | $32.70 |
| Local Government | $66580 | $32.01 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $66510 | $31.98 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $66450 | $31.95 |
| Support Activities for Water Transportation | $66290 | $31.87 |
| Truck Transportation | $66100 | $31.78 |
| Utility System Construction | $64030 | $30.78 |
| Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills | $62940 | $30.26 |
| Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing | $62370 | $29.99 |
| Coal Mining | $62090 | $29.85 |
| Rail Transportation | $60770 | $29.22 |
| Ship and Boat Building | $59880 | $28.79 |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $59300 | $28.51 |
| State Government | $59210 | $28.47 |
| Warehousing and Storage | $55290 | $26.58 |
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