Crane and Tower Operators in Montana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,763
after federal, FICA and Montana tax
Tax takes
$19,038
23.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,656
Montana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Montana — 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
$82,800
Kept after tax
$63,763
Worth in national money
$70,656
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Montana pays crane and tower operators a middle wage of $82,800, ranking 12 of 50 states and sitting about 21.62% above the national middle.
- Within Montana this is well-paid work. Of 475 occupations with published figures in the state, crane and tower operators ranks 83 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Montana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $82,800 you keep $63,763, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $70,656 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $81,740, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Montana's median for crane and tower operators is $82,800, about 21.62% above the national figure and 12 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Montana publishes a median for, crane and tower operators sits 83 of 475 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Montana income tax, retained pay for crane and tower operators on $82,800 is $63,763. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $70,656 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $81,740 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Crane and Tower Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $82,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,860 |
| This salary | $82,800 |
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 Montana | $63,763 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,080 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,626 |
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 | $78,085 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,246 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $82,800 as a midpoint for Montana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $51,970 and the ninetieth is $101,860 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Montana the take-home figure of $63,763, from $82,800, 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 83 of 475 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $70,656 uses one figure for the whole of Montana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 475 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 83.
- The Montana median of $82,800 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $51,970 to $101,860. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Montana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $63,763 from $82,800. 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 83 of 475 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,656, worked from $82,800, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Montana address, on work sitting at 83 of 475 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $51,970 at the bottom tenth to $101,860 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $70,656.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Montana then takes its own share, leaving $63,763.
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 ($51,970 to $101,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Montana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Montana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $70,656 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $63,763 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Montana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
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.