Crane Operator Salary in Texas 2026,
$73,280 Median | BLS Data by City

A median $73,280 a year, or $35.23 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025 — 7.6% above the national median of $68,080, with no state income tax deducted. The middle half falls between $57,020 and $79,880 and the full band runs $42,790 to $93,390. That is a comparatively narrow band for this trade, reflecting an industrial rather than high-rise market.

Midland at $79,220, then Killeen-Temple $76,010, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands $75,500, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos $75,360 and Odessa $75,310. Under four thousand dollars separates the whole table, and two Permian Basin markets appearing at the top reflects oilfield and midstream construction demand rather than any cost-of-living effect.

Not from the state. Texas issues no crane operator licence; the operative requirement is federal, under OSHA's crane standard, which requires certification by an accredited body — in practice NCCCO. That certification is what employers and insurers require, and it is fully portable across states, which suits a workforce that follows turnaround and project schedules.

Because the work is industrial rather than high-rise. Extreme upper tails in this occupation come from tower crane operation on dense-city high-rise construction, which carries its own municipal licensing, union rates and risk premium. Texas crane work is petrochemical turnaround, refinery, oilfield, midstream and industrial lifting — demanding and well paid, but priced far more consistently. The result is a $42,790 to $93,390 band and a metro table inside four thousand dollars.

Everywhere, which is the point — this is the deepest crane market in the country at 14.0% of the national occupation. Gulf Coast petrochemical and refinery turnarounds, Permian Basin oilfield and midstream construction, west Texas wind and solar installation, and metropolitan commercial, industrial and data centre building all draw on the same certificated operators. That breadth means an operator can follow work across sectors within one state.

It looks like this page. Turnaround and refinery work runs to compressed schedules with long shifts and substantial overtime, priced on availability and certification rather than on the extreme risk premium that tower crane operation over a dense city commands. The consequence is a band that tops out at $93,390 rather than reaching into the two hundreds, but also a floor at $42,790 that is higher relative to the median than in markets with more casual construction work, and a metro table so flat that geography barely registers. For an operator, it means the career decision here is about sector and machine type — lattice boom crawler, heavy lift, critical lift planning — rather than about which city to work in.

It reports wages as paid, so the overtime that dominates turnaround work is inside the number rather than beside it — an operator working a full turnaround season will exceed the median substantially on hours alone. It counts employees, and a share of crane work in Texas is contracted through specialist lifting companies with their own arrangements. It excludes the per-diem and travel allowances common on Permian Basin and remote project work. And the work is cyclical with the energy sector.

Certification and machine breadth first — NCCCO certification across crane types is what employers and insurers require, and the range of machines you are certified on determines which jobs you can take. Sector second: petrochemical turnaround, refinery and heavy industrial above general construction. Machine type third, with lattice boom crawler and heavy lift work above standard mobile operation. Critical lift planning and lead operator responsibility fourth, which is what the $93,390 ninetieth percentile describes. Willingness to travel for turnaround and remote project work runs through all of it.