Statewide pay Government data
Electrical lineworkers in Virginia earn a statewide median of $76,590 a year, 21% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #46 of 50 states and DC. About 2,920 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Virginia
See all states on the electrical lineworkers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes electrical lineworker pay for 4 Virginia metros: Blacksburg, Richmond, Staunton and Virginia Beach.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlacksburgVIRGINIA · VA | $84,840 | $91,511 | 50 |
| StauntonVIRGINIA · VA | $79,780 | $87,547 | 60 |
| RichmondVIRGINIA · VA | $78,110 | $79,820 | 490 |
| Virginia BeachVIRGINIA · VA | $68,350 | $69,787 | 420 |
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 Virginia'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 Virginia who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 60% completed (U.S.: 68%), about 26 graduates a year. The typical program runs 8,000 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
Virginia 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 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 Virginia Government data
18 schools in Virginia offer electrical and power line installer programs below the bachelor's level, 16 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 $44,844 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge Community College Weyers Cave, VA · Public | Certificate | $20,735 | 62 | — |
| Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA · Public | Certificate | $19,873 | 57 | — |
| New River Community College Dublin, VA · Public | Certificate | $13,920 | 49 | — |
| Virginia Highlands Community College Abingdon, VA · Public | Certificate | $14,781 | 44 | $49,948 |
| Virginia Western Community College Roanoke, VA · Public | Certificate | $12,255 | 36 | $40,876 |
| Mountain Gateway Community College Clifton Forge, VA · Public | Certificate | $12,389 | 34 | — |
| Centura College-Norfolk Norfolk, VA · Private for-profit | Certificate | $35,240 | 30 | $35,618 |
| Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA · Public | Associate degree | $19,873 | 26 | — |
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 Virginia Official source
The main state licensing office in Virginia is the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. It can point you to the right license for electrical lineworkers.
Official Virginia licensing site ↗
Requirements for electrical lineworkers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 5.4% of wage and salary workers in Virginia were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#38 of 51 states and D.C.), and 6.4% 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 Virginia
All trades in Virginia.