Riggers in the Salt Lake City area earn a median of $97,850 a year, 62% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #3 of 70 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Boise City.
It's the only Utah metro with published pay for this trade; see rigger pay in Utah, including rural areas.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for riggers here is in the top 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.6%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+3.8% since 2020).
A summary of the numbers on this page; nothing here is estimated beyond them.
Salt Lake City scorecard for riggers Our calculation
Grades compare Salt Lake City with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for riggers in the Salt Lake City area went from $51,420 in 2020 to $97,850 in 2025, up 90.3%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +51.8% — a real raise. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Salt Lake City Our calculation
Prices in the Salt Lake City area run 1% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $97,008 would in a typical place, ranking #2 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.
What the work is like Government data
How often riggers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Utah Official source
The main state licensing office in Utah is the Utah Division of Professional Licensing. It can point you to the right license for riggers.
Official Utah licensing site ↗
Requirements for riggers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
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).
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Salt Lake City area's unemployment rate was 3.6% in 2025 (all workers, not just riggers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 2.9% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Salt Lake City area is 24 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 11% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 66% drive alone, 2% take transit and 16% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Salt Lake City area's population grew 3.8% from 2020 to 2025 (1,260,358 → 1,308,377), ranking #133 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +10,658) account for part of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
New construction
New-home permits in Salt Lake City are down 34% from 2021 to 2025 (11,642 → 7,702).
In 2025 the Salt Lake City area approved permits for 7,702 new homes (3,015 single-family), or 6.0 per 1,000 residents, ranking #107 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 $97,850 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
How this calculator works. 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 Salt Lake City with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Pay over time: BLS OEWS May 2020–2025, local; inflation from the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
- 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.
- Housing: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local (age of homes, ownership, home values).
- Population: Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025, 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.
Report a data issue on this page
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for riggers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.