Statewide pay Government data
Electrical lineworkers in New York earn a statewide median of $121,280 a year, 25% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #8 of 50 states and DC. About 5,840 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near New York
See all states on the electrical lineworker overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes electrical lineworker pay for 9 New York metros. The highest-paying is Kiryas Joel at $135,400, followed by Albany and Binghamton.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY | $135,400 | $123,741 | 240 |
| AlbanyNEW YORK · NY | $127,580 | $128,136 | 460 |
| BinghamtonNEW YORK · NY | $127,170 | $136,944 | 100 |
| SyracuseNEW YORK · NY | $124,970 | $130,528 | 250 |
| UticaNEW YORK · NY | $123,700 | $133,473 | 120 |
| New YorkNEW YORK · NY | $122,480 | $108,810 | 3,850 |
| BuffaloNEW YORK · NY | $109,350 | $114,092 | 270 |
| RochesterNEW YORK · NY | $105,110 | $108,322 | 310 |
| WatertownNEW YORK · NY | $104,410 | $119,067 | 50 |
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 New York'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.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
From 2015 to 2024, electric power distribution companies in New York filed 35 severe injury reports (a hospital stay, amputation or loss of an eye), 4 of them involving an amputation. The most common cause was falls, slips and trips (37% of reports). These cover everyone at those employers, not only electrical lineworkers.
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Where to train in New York Government data
13 schools in New York offer electrical and power line installer programs below the bachelor's level, 10 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 $44,330 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Technical School Long Island City, NY · Private nonprofit | Certificate | $25,807 | 455 | $39,771 |
| Lincoln Technical Institute-Whitestone Whitestone, NY · Private for-profit | Certificate | $52,309 | 306 | $41,310 |
| Berk Trade and Business School Long Island City, NY · Private for-profit | Certificate | $18,682 | 136 | $40,746 |
| Erie 1 BOCES West Seneca, NY · Public | Certificate | $19,909 | 118 | — |
| SUNY College of Technology at Alfred Alfred, NY · Public | Associate degree | $25,215 | 105 | $47,350 |
| Hudson Valley Community College Troy, NY · Public | Associate degree | $15,610 | 79 | $60,250 |
| SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY · Public | Associate degree | $27,758 | 27 | $54,565 |
| SUNY College of Technology at Canton Canton, NY · Public | Certificate | $23,073 | 13 | — |
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 New York Official source
New York licenses most trades at the city or county level (e.g. New York City). Check with the building or licensing office where you plan to work.
Requirements for electrical lineworkers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 21.3% of wage and salary workers in New York were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#2 of 51 states and D.C.), and 22.5% 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 New York
All trades in New York.