Crane and Tower Operators in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,914
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$12,676
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,669
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$63,590
Kept after tax
$50,914
Worth in national money
$57,669
State rank
32
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Oklahoma is 32 of 50 states for crane and tower operators, with a middle wage of $63,590. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Oklahoma reports figures for, this is number 157.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $63,590 you keep $50,914 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $57,669 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $66,120, since top earners drag the number up.
- Oklahoma ranks 32 of 50 for crane and tower operators at $63,590. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Oklahoma's occupational distribution, crane and tower operators sits at 157 of 492 — 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 in Oklahoma is $50,914 after the full tax stack, from $63,590. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,669 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $66,120 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Crane and Tower Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,500 |
| This salary | $63,590 |
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 Oklahoma | $50,914 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,275 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,846 |
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 | $60,652 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,517 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Oklahoma earn less than $63,590. The published range is $46,300 up to $82,500, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $50,914 take-home in Oklahoma comes from $63,590. 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 157 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,669 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 157.
- Reported values are medians; for crane and tower operators in Oklahoma the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,300 to $82,500. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $50,914, from $63,590, assumes a single Oklahoma 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 157 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,669, worked from $63,590, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 157 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $66,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,300 and the top tenth $82,500, so most people doing this work in Oklahoma 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 $57,669.
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; Oklahoma then takes its own share, leaving $50,914.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Oklahoma is $66,120. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,300 to $82,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $57,669 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 $50,914 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.