Statewide pay Government data
Electrical lineworkers in Mississippi earn a statewide median of $75,890 a year, 22% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #50 of 50 states and DC. About 2,290 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Mississippi
See all states on the electrical lineworkers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes electrical lineworker pay for 3 Mississippi metros: Gulfport, Hattiesburg and Jackson.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| HattiesburgMISSISSIPPI · MS | $89,480 | $102,108 | 70 |
| GulfportMISSISSIPPI · MS | $65,960 | $73,284 | 290 |
| JacksonMISSISSIPPI · MS | $64,760 | $72,725 | 530 |
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 Mississippi'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 Mississippi who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 65% completed (U.S.: 68%), about 36 graduates a year. The typical program runs 8,000 hours, about 4 years of full-time work. Union programs had a 100% completion rate, compared with 40% for non-union programs.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Where to train in Mississippi Government data
15 schools in Mississippi offer electrical and power line installer programs below the bachelor's level, 14 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 $43,834 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Technical College-Mississippi Horn Lake, MS · Private for-profit | Certificate | $32,025 | 98 | $34,797 |
| Hinds Community College Raymond, MS · Public | Certificate | $10,756 | 82 | $40,548 |
| Jones County Junior College Ellisville, MS · Public | Certificate | $12,705 | 63 | — |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Perkinston, MS · Public | Certificate | $14,208 | 61 | — |
| East Mississippi Community College Scooba, MS · Public | Certificate | $11,015 | 37 | $47,291 |
| Meridian Community College Meridian, MS · Public | Certificate | $14,127 | 37 | — |
| Northwest Mississippi Community College Senatobia, MS · Public | Certificate | $12,361 | 29 | — |
| Pearl River Community College Poplarville, MS · Public | Associate degree | $14,705 | 28 | $44,891 |
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 Mississippi Official source
The main state licensing office in Mississippi is the Mississippi State Board of Contractors. It can point you to the right license for electrical lineworkers.
Official Mississippi licensing site ↗
Requirements for electrical lineworkers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 4.2% of wage and salary workers in Mississippi were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#44 of 51 states and D.C.), and 7.3% 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 Mississippi
All trades in Mississippi.