Best degree programs for Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers, ranked by enrollment
3 college programs and 136 schools train Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $95,320 median wage, 131,070 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
3 college programs at 136 schools train electrical power-line installers and repairers, graduating 5,299 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Lineworker. The job pays a median of $95,320 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About electrical power-line installers and repairers
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
3 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lineworkermain feeder CIP 46.0303 | 2,855 | 53.9% | 79 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
| 2 | CIP 46.0301 | 2,336 | 44.1% | 60 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
| 3 | CIP 46.0399 | 108 | 2.0% | 7 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What electrical power-line installers and repairers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $78,940 | 17,280 | 1.46× | 19 | 1,555 |
| New York | $121,280 | 5,840 | 0.72× | 5 | 395 |
| North Carolinalimited | $77,270 | 5,650 | 1.36× | 2 | 263 |
| Georgia | $80,080 | 4,960 | 1.20× | 6 | 196 |
| Wisconsin | $105,820 | 2,520 | 1.02× | 7 | 195 |
| Coloradomoderate | $103,980 | 2,370 | 0.98× | 3 | 188 |
| Michigan | $106,890 | 2,800 | 0.75× | 6 | 164 |
| Iowamoderate | $100,200 | 1,390 | 1.06× | 3 | 147 |
| Ohio | $93,150 | 4,260 | 0.91× | 9 | 145 |
| Mississippi | $75,890 | 2,290 | 2.34× | 6 | 142 |
| California | $129,040 | 8,930 | 0.58× | 5 | 141 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $76,870 | 2,690 | 1.38× | 3 | 140 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $104,180 | 2,190 | 0.88× | 4 | 137 |
| Oklahoma | $76,010 | 3,290 | 2.29× | 7 | 126 |
| South Dakotalimited | $97,310 | 740 | 1.91× | 1 | 125 |
| Nebraskamoderate | $92,150 | 1,490 | 1.72× | 3 | 110 |
| Louisianalimited | $76,410 | 2,520 | 1.55× | 2 | 109 |
| Missourimoderate | $96,360 | 3,440 | 1.39× | 3 | 99 |
| Floridamoderate | $86,870 | 6,420 | 0.77× | 3 | 95 |
| Oregon | $131,090 | 1,640 | 0.99× | 6 | 93 |
| Pennsylvania | $106,230 | 4,150 | 0.81× | 6 | 88 |
| Kansaslimited | $101,620 | 1,610 | 1.33× | 2 | 86 |
| Indianalimited | $102,040 | 2,540 | 0.94× | 1 | 82 |
| Tennesseelimited | $83,660 | 3,900 | 1.41× | 2 | 79 |
| Arkansaslimited | $81,450 | 1,510 | 1.37× | 2 | 73 |
| Illinoismoderate | $108,120 | 3,090 | 0.60× | 3 | 71 |
| Montanalimited | $110,320 | 680 | 1.58× | 1 | 65 |
| North Dakotalimited | $105,870 | 740 | 2.04× | 1 | 56 |
| Arizona | $75,420 | 3,360 | 1.23× | 5 | 28 |
| Mainelimited | $83,090 | 1,160 | 2.15× | 1 | 26 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $102,170 | 560 | 0.97× | 1 | 18 |
| New Mexicolimited | $76,470 | 1,020 | 1.39× | 2 | 15 |
| New Jerseylimited | $121,580 | 1,310 | 0.36× | 1 | 11 |
| West Virginialimited | $83,810 | 1,260 | 2.14× | 1 | 11 |
| Wyominglimited | $93,860 | 670 | 2.83× | 1 | 11 |
| Marylandlimited | $106,090 | 1,830 | 0.79× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
- Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
- Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
- Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
- Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
- Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments.
- Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers.
- Replace or straighten damaged poles.
Skills
- Active Listening3.4
- Monitoring3.3
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Speaking2.9
- Learning Strategies2.8
- Writing2.5
Knowledge areas
- Building and Construction3.6
- English Language3.4
- Education and Training3.3
- Public Safety and Security3.3
- Transportation3.3
- Mechanical3.3
Abilities
- Multilimb Coordination4.0
- Near Vision4.0
- Arm-Hand Steadiness4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Deductive Reasoning3.8
- Control Precision3.8
Core activities
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.7
- Performing General Physical Activities4.6
- Handling and Moving Objects4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.4
- Getting Information4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Electrical Power-Line Installer
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0301Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General
- 46.0303Lineworker
- 46.0399Electrical and Power Transmission Installers, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Electrical Power-Line Installer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Lineworker, which awarded 2,855 degrees in 2024-25, 53.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Electrical Power-Line Installer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical and Power Transmission Installers. Together they graduate about 5,299 people a year.
How much do electrical power-line installers and repairers earn?+
The median is $95,320 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $51,470 at the 10th percentile to $128,690 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for electrical power-line installers and repairers growing?+
BLS projects a +6.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 10,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
136 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do electrical power-line installers and repairers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Lineworker, Service Man, Power Lineman, Electrical Lineman among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-9051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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