Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-7021

Crane and Tower Operators

The published band from $42,640 to $103,570 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Commercial Pilots.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Crane and Tower Operators: Commercial Pilots ($123K) , First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($63K) , Subway and Streetcar Operators ($86K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Crane and Tower Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload
  2. 2. Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting…
  3. 3. Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage
  4. 4. Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed
  5. 5. Direct helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes
  6. 6. Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary
  7. 7. Load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using moving equipment
  8. 8. Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets
  9. 9. Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions
  10. 10. Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery
  11. 11. Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records

Crane and Tower Operators: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7021 - lead skill Operation and Control at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 3.9
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 3.8
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.3
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.1
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.1
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.0
  7. 7. Speaking 3.0
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 3.5
  2. 2. Mathematics 3.0
  3. 3. Transportation 2.9
  4. 4. English Language 2.9
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 2.8
  6. 6. Building and Construction 2.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$42,640 to $103,570
median $68,080 · ~2.4× spread
$68K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
3,800
Annual openings
42,890
Estimated US jobs
Commercial Pilots
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Crane and Tower Operators

1. Oregon $83,260
2. New York $85,850
3. Washington $101,110
4. Hawaii $124,260
5. Nevada $115,840
6. Maryland $87,950
7. Massachusetts $98,150
8. Alaska $92,490
9. New Jersey $100,640
10. Rhode Island $104,340

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Subway and Streetcar Operators $86,380
  2. 2. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  3. 3. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  4. 4. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  5. 5. Ship Engineers $109,530
  6. 6. First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors $62,890

The OEWS band for Crane and Tower Operators runs from $42,640 (10th) to $103,570 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $68,080. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 3,800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. 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: Oregon at $83,260. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Commercial Pilots at $123,220. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Crane and Tower Operators pay-rank #13 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Crane and Tower Operators is pay-rank #13, 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 Crane and Tower Operators is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Crane and Tower Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7021

Oregon · top state for Crane and Tower Operators

$83K published median

New York · #2 state pay

$86K · behind Oregon

Commercial Pilots

Highest-pay peer vs Crane and Tower Operators · $123K

First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Lower-pay peer beside Crane and Tower Operators · $63K

Compare Crane and Tower Operators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Crane and Tower Operators 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 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Crane and Tower Operators at the top of the pay table? ▼
Crane and Tower Operators is pay-rank #13 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K), Wellhead Pumpers ($70K), Flight Attendants ($64K), First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($63K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do crane and tower operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Crane and Tower Operators. Leading ones include: Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload; Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting…; Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage; Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for crane and tower operators? ▼
For SOC 53-7021, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (3.9), Operations Monitoring (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.3), Active Listening (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Mathematics, Transportation. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Crane and Tower Operators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $42,640 and the 90th at $103,570 for Crane and Tower Operators (2.4× spread). The national median is $68,080. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Crane and Tower Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Crane and Tower Operators is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 3,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Crane and Tower Operators? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Crane and Tower Operators. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Crane and Tower Operators? ▼
Oregon ($83,260), New York ($85,850), Washington ($101,110) 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 Crane and Tower Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Crane and Tower Operators. 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