Statewide pay Government data
Telecom equipment installers in New York earn a statewide median of $67,710 a year, 9% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #18 of 50 states and DC. About 6,240 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near New York
See all states on the telecom equipment installers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes telecom equipment installer pay for 10 New York metros. The highest-paying is New York at $75,900, followed by Rochester and Watertown.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| New YorkNEW YORK · NY | $75,900 | $67,429 | 5,820 |
| RochesterNEW YORK · NY | $73,870 | $76,127 | 330 |
| WatertownNEW YORK · NY | $69,120 | $78,823 | 40 |
| BinghamtonNEW YORK · NY | $63,920 | $68,833 | 50 |
| Kiryas JoelNEW YORK · NY | $62,980 | $57,557 | 160 |
| KingstonNEW YORK · NY | $62,830 | $62,388 | 50 |
| AlbanyNEW YORK · NY | $61,560 | $61,828 | 290 |
| SyracuseNEW YORK · NY | $61,550 | $64,287 | 160 |
| BuffaloNEW YORK · NY | $61,080 | $63,729 | 210 |
| UticaNEW YORK · NY | $58,770 | $63,413 | 120 |
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, set up, rearrange, or remove switching, distribution, routing, and dialing equipment used in central offices or headends. Service or repair telephone, cable television, Internet, and other communications equipment on customers' property. May install communications equipment or communications wiring in buildings.
Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,300 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, telecom equipment installers have 168 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
What the work is like Government data
How often telecom equipment installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
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 telecom equipment installers 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 telecom equipment installers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in New York
All trades in New York.