Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
SOC 49-9051 · 2024-2034
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $132,689per year
- Projected openings
- 7,690
- Projected change
- +7.8%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Troubleshooting
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Coordination
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $141,957 | 70 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $140,540 | 40 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $135,805 | 140 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $135,189 | 270 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $134,963 | 30 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $134,265 | 230 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $133,441 | 1,420 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $130,424 | 240 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $130,371 | 330 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $128,448 | 920 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $126,460 | 380 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $126,152 | 110 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $123,934 | 240 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $113,911 | 40 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $113,818 | 1,590 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $111,261 | 780 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $109,597 | 800 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $93,361 | 610 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | Not reported | 50 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | Not reported | 100 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $79,537
- A quarter earn under
- $101,470
- Half earn under
- $132,689
- Three quarters earn under
- $160,802
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $171,814
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers | $100,750 | 7,040 | -12.8% |
| Helpers--Electricians | $53,491 | 3,430 | +3.1% |
| Electricians | $78,223 | 86,460 | +14.9% |
| Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay | $124,956 | 1,320 | 0% |
| Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment | $87,218 | 1,190 | 0% |
| Riggers | $88,154 | 2,470 | +9.1% |
Programs that train for this job — 7
Electrical Powerline Mechanic
East Los Angeles Skills Center - LAUSD · Los Angeles · $5,390
UC Davis Facilities Management Apprenticeship
UC Davis Facilities Management Apprenticeship · Davis · $0
Competent Person: Trench Safety Training
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Training Academy · Bakersfield · $200
Line Locating
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Training Academy · Bakersfield · $250
Transmission Technician Trainee
Richard N. Slawson Occupational Center - LAUSD · Bell · $1,780
Truckee Donner Public Utility District JATC
Truckee Donner Public Utility District JATC · Truckee · $0
Electrical Lineworker-480
American Career Training, LLC · Redding · $24,995