Crane and Tower Operators in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,926
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,554
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,158
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — 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
$64,480
Kept after tax
$51,926
Worth in national money
$55,158
State rank
30
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for crane and tower operators. The median is $64,480, ranking 30 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 163 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,480 the take-home is $51,926; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,158 would nationally. The average comes to $65,620, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for crane and tower operators: a median of $64,480, ranking 30 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.
- Crane and tower operators ranks 163 of 489 occupations in North Carolina by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for crane and tower operators in North Carolina, on $64,480, is $51,926 — equivalent to $55,158 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 $65,620 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 | $46,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,730 |
| This salary | $64,480 |
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 North Carolina | $51,926 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,990 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$401 |
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 | $61,911 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$485 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $64,480. The published range is $46,530 up to $82,730, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $51,926 take-home in North Carolina comes from $64,480. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 163 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $55,158 uses one figure for the whole of North Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 163.
- Reported values are medians; for crane and tower operators in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,530 to $82,730. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $51,926, from $64,480, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 163 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $55,158, worked from $64,480, 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 North Carolina address, on work sitting at 163 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,530 and the top tenth $82,730, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $55,158.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $51,926 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,530 to $82,730) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina'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 $55,158 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 $51,926 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina 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.