Hoist and Winch Operators salary

SOC 53-7041 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$56,450

per year, nationally

Middle half

$42,690–$94,350

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

2,600

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-1.1%

300 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$35,640$118,210

10th: $35,640
25th: $42,690
Median: $56,450
75th: $94,350
90th: $118,210

Getting in

Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where hoist and winch operators earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Illinois	$118,210	100.0	320	3.10×
2	Hawaii	$107,100	110.0	120	11.17×
3	Maryland	$99,840	105.0	140	3.03×
4	Minnesota	$78,400	98.6	60	1.22×
5	New York	$74,980	107.9	110	0.66×
6	Massachusetts	$62,240	105.8	—	—
7	Oregon	$55,880	103.4	70	2.22×
8	Missouri	$47,510	90.8	40	0.89×
9	Ohio	$43,000	92.8	—	—
10	Michigan	$40,070	96.2	50	0.62×
11	Tennessee	$39,930	91.9	40	0.70×
12	Indiana	$39,750	93.3	120	2.27×
13	Georgia	$37,870	96.3	90	1.08×
14	Virginia	$37,020	101.1	40	0.54×
15	Wisconsin	$36,560	94.1	80	1.54×
16	Florida	$33,570	103.4	120	0.75×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where hoist and winch operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for hoist and winch operators

The 9 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$118,210	103.6	300	4.00×
2	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$99,840	104.5	130	5.85×
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$78,400	104.8	60	1.72×
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$74,840	111.1	160	4.45×
5	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$64,390	108.3	—	—
6	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$47,810	103.1	40	0.64×
7	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$46,310	100.1	60	1.19×
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$35,410	100.3	30	1.02×
9	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$29,120	114.2	—	—

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where hoist and winch operators wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,240
Stockers and Order Fillers$37,330
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,420
Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,280
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,830
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$49,690
Crane and Tower Operators$68,080
Machine Feeders and Offbearers$41,220