Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 49-9092

Commercial Divers

The published band from $43,330 to $157,790 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Commercial Divers: Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay ($103K) , Millwrights ($66K) , First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers ($80K) , Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers ($95K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Commercial Divers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 49-9092 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expedition…
  2. 2. Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges
  3. 3. Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones
  4. 4. Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits
  5. 5. Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions
  6. 6. Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers
  7. 7. Inspect the condition of underwater steel or wood structures
  8. 8. Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circu…
  9. 9. Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools
  10. 10. Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to r…
  11. 11. Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, or related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life
  12. 12. Take test samples or photographs to assess the condition of vessels or structures

Commercial Divers: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 49-9092 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 3.9
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.8
  3. 3. Operations Monitoring 3.8
  4. 4. Speaking 3.6
  5. 5. Quality Control Analysis 3.5
  6. 6. Operation and Control 3.4
  7. 7. Time Management 3.4
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.1
  2. 2. Building and Construction 3.8
  3. 3. Physics 3.5
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.2
  5. 5. Mathematics 3.1
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.1
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$43,330 to $157,790
median $72,990 · ~3.6× spread
$73K
National median
↑ +9%
Growth 2024-2034
400
Annual openings
3,450
Estimated US jobs
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Highest-pay peer · $103K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Commercial Divers

1. Vermont $85,780
2. California $101,540
3. New York $157,800
4. Washington $161,800
5. New Jersey $86,920
6. Hawaii $95,750
7. Rhode Island $126,320
8. Maine $74,610
9. Indiana $83,510
10. Arizona $85,990

Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations titles

  1. 1. First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers $79,860
  2. 2. Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay $103,020
  3. 3. Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers $95,320
  4. 4. Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment $74,090
  5. 5. Avionics Technicians $82,280
  6. 6. Millwrights $65,700

The OEWS band for Commercial Divers runs from $43,330 (10th) to $157,790 (90th), about 3.6× wide, with median $72,990. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +9% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Vermont at $85,780. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay at $103,020. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Commercial Divers pay-rank #11 in Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations

Among 51 detailed Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations with a published OEWS median, Commercial Divers is pay-rank #11, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Commercial Divers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Commercial Divers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 49-9092

Vermont · top state for Commercial Divers

$86K published median

California · #2 state pay

$102K · behind Vermont

Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay

Highest-pay peer vs Commercial Divers · $103K

Millwrights

Lower-pay peer beside Commercial Divers · $66K

Compare Commercial Divers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Commercial Divers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations titles sit near Commercial Divers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Commercial Divers is pay-rank #11 of 51 detailed Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment ($74K), Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers ($74K), Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door ($74K), Precision Instrument and Equipment Repairers, All Other ($69K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do commercial divers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Commercial Divers. Leading ones include: Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expedition…; Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges; Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones; Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for commercial divers? ▼
For SOC 49-9092, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (3.9), Active Listening (3.8), Operations Monitoring (3.8), Speaking (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Building and Construction, Physics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Commercial Divers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $43,330 and the 90th at $157,790 for Commercial Divers (3.6× spread). The national median is $72,990. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Commercial Divers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Commercial Divers is +9%. Projected annual openings: about 400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Commercial Divers? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Commercial Divers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Commercial Divers? ▼
Vermont ($85,780), California ($101,540), New York ($157,800) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Commercial Divers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 49-9092. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Commercial Divers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics