Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-7041

Hoist and Winch Operators

The published band from $35,640 to $118,210 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Hoist and Winch Operators: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Flight Attendants ($64K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) , Commercial Pilots ($123K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Hoist and Winch Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7041 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telepho…
  2. 2. Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches
  3. 3. Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums
  4. 4. Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths
  5. 5. Operate compressed air, diesel, electric, gasoline, or steam-driven hoists or winches to control movement of cableways, cages, derricks…
  6. 6. Oil winch drums so that cables will wind smoothly
  7. 7. Move or reposition hoists, winches, loads and materials, manually or using equipment and machines such as trucks, cars, and hand trucks
  8. 8. Climb ladders to position and set up vehicle-mounted derricks
  9. 9. Select loads or materials according to weight and size specifications
  10. 10. Repair, maintain, and adjust equipment, using hand tools
  11. 11. Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials
  12. 12. Tend auxiliary equipment, such as jacks, slings, cables, or stop blocks, to facilitate moving items or materials for further processing

Hoist and Winch Operators: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7041 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 3.8
  2. 2. Monitoring 3.6
  3. 3. Operations Monitoring 3.6
  4. 4. Time Management 3.5
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.4
  6. 6. Operation and Control 3.4
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.3
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 3.1
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 2.9
  3. 3. English Language 2.6
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 2.6
  5. 5. Transportation 2.6
  6. 6. Administration and Management 2.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$35,640 to $118,210
median $56,450 · ~3.3× spread
$56K
National median
↓ -1%
Growth 2024-2034
300
Annual openings
2,600
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Hoist and Winch Operators

1. Maryland $99,840
2. Hawaii $107,100
3. Missouri $47,510
4. Minnesota $78,400
5. Michigan $40,070
6. Ohio $43,000
7. New York $74,980
8. Massachusetts $62,240
9. Illinois $118,210
10. Oregon $55,880

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  2. 2. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  3. 3. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  4. 4. Transportation Inspectors $92,100
  5. 5. Flight Attendants $63,580
  6. 6. Ship Engineers $109,530

The OEWS band for Hoist and Winch Operators runs from $35,640 (10th) to $118,210 (90th), about 3.3× wide, with median $56,450. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -1% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential 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: Maryland at $99,840. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Hoist and Winch Operators pay-rank #25 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Hoist and Winch Operators sits at pay-rank #25 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table 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.

SOC 53-7041 · national median $56,450 · middle third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#25/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Hoist and Winch Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7041

Maryland · top state for Hoist and Winch Operators

$100K published median

Hawaii · #2 state pay

$107K · behind Maryland

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Hoist and Winch Operators · $232K

Flight Attendants

Lower-pay peer beside Hoist and Winch Operators · $64K

Compare Hoist and Winch Operators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Hoist and Winch 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

Is Hoist and Winch Operators mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #25 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Rail Transportation Workers, All Other ($56K), Airfield Operations Specialists ($57K), Bridge and Lock Tenders ($58K), Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($58K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do hoist and winch operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Hoist and Winch Operators. Leading ones include: Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telepho…; Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches; Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums; Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for hoist and winch operators? ▼
For SOC 53-7041, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (3.8), Monitoring (3.6), Operations Monitoring (3.6), Time Management (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Hoist and Winch Operators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $35,640 and the 90th at $118,210 for Hoist and Winch Operators (3.3× spread). The national median is $56,450. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Hoist and Winch Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Hoist and Winch Operators is -1%. Projected annual openings: about 300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Hoist and Winch Operators? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Hoist and Winch Operators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Hoist and Winch Operators? ▼
Maryland ($99,840), Hawaii ($107,100), Missouri ($47,510) 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 Hoist and Winch Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7041. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Hoist and Winch 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