Crane & tower operators

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

61.5k

Average Age

44.1

Estimated Job Growth

1.75%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$67,422

Average Male Salary

$68,064

Average Female Salary

$47,499

About

Crane & tower operators are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Crane & tower operators was $67,422 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Crane & tower operators by wage are Web developers, Mining machine operators, and Social & community service managers.

Crane & tower operators are part of the Transportation Occupations, along with Supervisors of transportation & material moving workers, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Flight attendants, Ambulance drivers & attendants, except emergency medical technicians, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Crane & tower operators are Livingston & St. Helena Parishes PUMA, LA, Minot City PUMA, ND, and Hammond & East Chicago Cities PUMA, IN. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Crane & tower operators are Hammond & East Chicago Cities PUMA, IN, Livingston & St. Helena Parishes PUMA, LA, and Gary City & Griffith Town PUMA, IN.

Photo by Matthew Sullivan

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Crane & tower operators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Construction is the industry that employs the most Crane & tower operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Crane & tower operators, by average wage, is Services incidental to transportation. Crane & tower operators are paid most in Will County (South) PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in Hammond & East Chicago Cities PUMA, IN.

Yearly Wage

$67,422

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,177

In 2020, Crane & tower operators earned an average of $67,422, $11,468 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Web developers make somewhat more than Crane & tower operators while Social & community service managers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Crane & tower operators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.3

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Crane & tower operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.3, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Crane & tower operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Crane & tower operators.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Crane & tower operators

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Crane & tower operators.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Crane & tower operators, by number of employees, are Construction, Iron & steel mills & steel product manufacturing, Services incidental to transportation, Support activities for mining, Commercial, industrial & other intangible assets rental & leasing, Recyclable material merchant wholesalers, Electric power generation, transmission & distribution, Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing, Ship & boat building, Structural metals, & boiler, tank, & shipping container manufacturing , and Waste management & remediation services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Crane & tower operators, by average wage, are Services incidental to transportation, Petroleum refining, and Aircraft & parts manufacturing.

Industries by Share

61.5k

2020 Workforce

± 6,088

1.52%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 13.8%

The number of people employed as Crane & tower operators has been growing at a rate of 1.52%, from 60,584 people in 2019 to 61,506 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Crane & tower operators employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Crane & tower operators at 35.9%, followed by Iron & steel mills & steel product manufacturing with 15.5% and Services incidental to transportation with 4.57%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Crane & tower operators in the US. The average age of male Crane & tower operators in the workforce is 44.2 and of female Crane & tower operators is 41.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Crane & tower operators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

59.6k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,992

1.92k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 1,076

96.9% of Crane & tower operators are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Crane & tower operators.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Crane & tower operators

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

67.7% of Crane & tower operators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.5% of Crane & tower operators, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Crane & tower operators.

Age by Sex

44.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.28

41.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 7.46

The median age of Crane & tower operators is 44.1, and Male employees are generally 2.27 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Crane & tower operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Crane & tower operators is Business but a relatively high number of Crane & tower operators hold a major in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Crane & tower operators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Crane & tower operators need many skills, but most especially Operation and Control, Operation Monitoring, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Crane & tower operators need more than the average amount of Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, and Operation and Control.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Crane and Tower Operators from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Crane and Tower Operators are expected to see a growth of 1.75% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Crane and Tower Operators.

1.75%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Crane and Tower Operators. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.