Crane and Tower Operators in Florida
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,172
after federal, FICA and Florida tax
Tax takes
$12,388
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,198
Florida costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Florida — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$71,560
Kept after tax
$59,172
Worth in national money
$57,198
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Florida sits in the middle of the pack for crane and tower operators. The median is $71,560, ranking 21 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Florida reports figures for, this is number 142.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $71,560 the take-home is $59,172. But Florida costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $57,198 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $71,460, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Florida occupies the middle band for crane and tower operators: a median of $71,560, ranking 21 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Florida's occupational distribution, crane and tower operators sits at 142 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Florida income tax is $59,172 for crane and tower operators, from $71,560. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,198. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $71,460 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Crane and Tower Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,170 |
| This salary | $71,560 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Florida | $59,172 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,172 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,695 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $71,560 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,098 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 103 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of crane and tower operators in Florida earn under $71,560 and half over. The published range runs $47,840 at the tenth percentile to $94,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Florida the take-home figure of $59,172, from $71,560, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 142 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Florida, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,198, the adjusted value of that $71,560 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 142 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for crane and tower operators in Florida, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,840 to $94,170; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Florida is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,172 from $71,560. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 142 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Florida, so $57,198 — the adjusted value of that $71,560 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 142 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,840 at the bottom tenth to $94,170 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Florida run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $57,198 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $59,172 of this wage reaches your account, because Florida takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,840 to $94,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Florida rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Florida's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $57,198 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Florida levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $59,172 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.