What the Key Grip, the person who heads up the grip department, makes on a job depends on multiple factors, including their experience, the nature of the production, the volume of work available in a given year, and their membership in a union. For this reason, the average salary of a Key Grip can fluctuate wildly from person to person.
On average, though, a Key Grip can expect to make anywhere from $35,000 to $75,000 in a given year.