Statewide pay Government data
Electrical lineworkers in California earn a statewide median of $129,040 a year, 33% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #4 of 50 states and DC. About 8,930 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near California
See all states on the electrical lineworkers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes electrical lineworker pay for 12 California metros. The highest-paying is San Jose at $157,620, followed by San Francisco and El Centro.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San JoseCALIFORNIA · CA | $157,620 | $142,742 | 300 |
| San FranciscoCALIFORNIA · CA | $137,180 | $118,654 | 770 |
| El CentroCALIFORNIA · CA | $134,950 | $141,793 | 40 |
| FresnoCALIFORNIA · CA | $134,150 | $131,316 | 230 |
| OxnardCALIFORNIA · CA | $131,050 | $118,561 | 200 |
| Los AngelesCALIFORNIA · CA | $130,440 | $114,858 | 2,140 |
| RiversideCALIFORNIA · CA | $128,750 | $120,958 | 1,580 |
| SacramentoCALIFORNIA · CA | $127,160 | $119,209 | 650 |
| BakersfieldCALIFORNIA · CA | $126,670 | $125,558 | 280 |
| San Luis ObispoCALIFORNIA · CA | $123,650 | $113,862 | 170 |
| San DiegoCALIFORNIA · CA | $120,870 | $108,029 | 740 |
| VallejoCALIFORNIA · CA | $112,990 | $104,158 | 360 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for California's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,900 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, electrical lineworkers have 177 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 2.0× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
What the work is like Government data
How often electrical lineworkers 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.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of electrical lineworker apprentices in California who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 81% completed (U.S.: 68%), about 18 graduates a year. The typical program runs 7,360 hours, about 4 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
California runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, electric power distribution companies filed 450 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was electric shock (34%). OSHA also opened 10 fatality investigations at electric power distribution companies in California over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in California Government data
63 schools in California offer electrical and power line installer programs below the bachelor's level, 28 of them at public colleges. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $48,082 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEI College-Reseda Reseda, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $37,789 | 374 | $44,727 |
| Santiago Canyon College Orange, CA · Public | Certificate | $12,288 | 317 | — |
| Summit College San Bernardino, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $33,537 | 313 | $46,307 |
| UEI College-West Covina West Covina, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $36,313 | 297 | $44,727 |
| Southern California Institute of Technology Anaheim, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $36,858 | 273 | $48,200 |
| Institute for Business and Technology San Jose, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $30,314 | 271 | $47,535 |
| UEI College-Riverside Riverside, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $37,072 | 268 | $44,792 |
| UEI College-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $38,997 | 244 | $42,082 |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in California Official source
The main state licensing office in California is the Contractors State License Board. Licenses all trades by classification (e.g. C-10 electrical; C-36 plumbing). It can point you to the right license for electrical lineworkers.
Official California licensing site ↗
Requirements for electrical lineworkers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 14.9% of wage and salary workers in California were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#8 of 51 states and D.C.), and 16.7% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only electrical lineworkers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in California
All trades in California.