Crane Operating
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Crane Operating occupation series (code 5725), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Crane Operating is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 616 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family. At an average salary of $90,118 it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -1.1%
- Pay change
- +0.6%
- Avg tenure
- 13.9 yrs
- Rank in family
- #3 of 15
What the Numbers Say About Crane Operating
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Crane Operating sits inside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family (code 57), which contains 15 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Crane Operating postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family. Across the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family, 9,311 employees work in 15 occupations; Crane Operating is 6.6% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (83rd percentile) of pay among Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Crane Operating pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$90,118
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-23.2%
Where Crane Operating ranks on federal pay
Crane Operating earns more on average than 45% of federal occupation series (246 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Crane Operating sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Crane Operating.
Related Occupations in Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Vehicle Operating | 4,012 | $61,944 | 12.6 yrs |
| Engineering Equipment Operating | 2,691 | $78,062 | 13.2 yrs |
| Misc Transportation/mobile Equipment Oper | 512 | $60,267 | 13 yrs |
| Tractor Operating | 437 | $60,593 | 11.6 yrs |
| Small Craft Operating | 225 | $76,720 | 12.5 yrs |
| Deckhand | 192 | $66,505 | 7.3 yrs |
| Ship Operating | 129 | $101,346 | 14.4 yrs |
| Fork Lift Operating | 126 | $67,848 | 12.4 yrs |
| Riverboat Operating | 120 | n/a | 15 yrs |
| Drill Rig Operating | 78 | $75,988 | 10.3 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Crane Operating outside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (616 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($90,118 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Crane Operating pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Crane Operating postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.