Riggers in the Dallas area earn a median of $50,840 a year, 16% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #56 of 70 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Longview.
Dallas scorecard for riggers Our calculation
Grades compare Dallas with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($60,455).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Dallas Our calculation
Prices in the Dallas area run 3% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $49,316 would in a typical place, ranking #61 of 70 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What riggers do
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
- Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
- Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
- Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
- Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, rigger jobs are projected to grow 3.9% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 1,700 openings a year. About nan% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, riggers have 79 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, about the same as all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying TX metros for riggers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| HoustonTEXAS · TX | $64,430 | $65,326 | 1,140 |
| BeaumontTEXAS · TX | $63,950 | $71,019 | 210 |
| Corpus ChristiTEXAS · TX | $60,240 | $65,004 | 220 |
| AustinTEXAS · TX | $52,150 | $53,178 | 130 |
| DallasTEXAS · TX | $50,840 | $49,316 | 660 |
| San AntonioTEXAS · TX | $50,480 | $53,296 | 340 |
| MidlandTEXAS · TX | $49,830 | $52,024 | 190 |
| OdessaTEXAS · TX | $46,120 | $49,118 | 70 |
| LongviewTEXAS · TX | $45,300 | $50,623 | 50 |
See every metro in Texas.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Dallas area's unemployment rate was 3.9% in 2025 (all workers, not just riggers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.1% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Dallas area is 29 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 20% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 70% drive alone, 1% take transit and 16% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Dallas are down 16% from 2021 to 2025 (78,705 → 66,179).
In 2025 the Dallas area approved permits for 66,179 new homes (39,790 single-family), or 8.3 per 1,000 residents, ranking #51 of 393 metros.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $50,840 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get rigger pricing & estimate templates →Compare Dallas with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for riggers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.