Crane and Tower Operators in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,909
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$11,811
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,118
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$60,720
Kept after tax
$48,909
Worth in national money
$54,118
State rank
41
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Nebraska pays crane and tower operators a middle wage of $60,720, 41 of 50 states and about 10.81% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Crane and tower operators ranks 216 among 488 occupations Nebraska publishes pay for.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $60,720 the take-home is $48,909; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,118 would nationally. The average comes to $61,510, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Nebraska's $60,720 median for crane and tower operators places it 41 of 50 states, about 10.81% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 216 of 488 in Nebraska places crane and tower operators in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for crane and tower operators in Nebraska, on $60,720, is $48,909 — equivalent to $54,118 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $61,510 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Crane and Tower Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,410 |
| This salary | $60,720 |
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 Nebraska | $48,909 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,969 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,667 |
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 | $58,157 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,016 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 Nebraska earn under $60,720 and half over. The published range runs $36,140 at the tenth percentile to $82,410 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $48,909, from $60,720, 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 216 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,118 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 216.
- Figures are distribution medians for crane and tower operators in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,140 to $82,410; 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 Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,909 from $60,720. 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 216 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,118, worked from $60,720, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 216 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,140 and the top tenth $82,410 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $54,118 in national terms.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $48,909.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($36,140) and the ninetieth ($82,410) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $54,118 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 $48,909 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.