Telecom Line Installers in the Fort Smith area earn a median of $83,960 a year, 27% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #53 of 235 metros for telecom line installer pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Fayetteville.
It's one of 4 Arkansas metros with published pay for this trade; see telecom line installers across Arkansas.
Telecom Line Installer pay in Fort Smith at a glance
- Telecom line installers in the Fort Smith, AR metro earn a median $83,960 a year ($40.36 an hour), #53 of 235 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $35,930 and $100,830.
- After local prices, that median buys what $97,755 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $748 a month, 11% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for telecom line installers here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, and in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is about the same as in most metros (4.1%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+3.1% since 2020).
Fort Smith scorecard for telecom line installers Our calculation
Grades compare Fort Smith with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($66,250).
Pay over time
The median pay for telecom line installers in the Fort Smith area went from $41,470 in 2020 to $83,960 in 2025, up 102.5%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's +61.5% — a real raise.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Fort Smith Our calculation
Prices in Fort Smith run 14% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $97,755 would in a typical place, ranking #19 of 233 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
Want the full picture? Build a monthly budget for Fort Smith from this pay, local rent and prices.
What telecom line installers do
Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
- Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
- Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
- Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.
- Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, telecom line installer jobs are projected to shrink 3.4% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 8,000 openings a year. About 5% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often telecom line installers 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.
Licensing in Arkansas Official source
The main state licensing office in Arkansas is the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing. Home of the Contractors Licensing Board; some trades are licensed by other state agencies. It can point you to the right license for telecom line installers.
Official Arkansas licensing site ↗
Requirements for telecom line installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, telecom line installers have 379 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 4.4× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying AR metros for telecom line installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort SmithARKANSAS · AR | $83,960 | $97,755 | 50 |
| JonesboroARKANSAS · AR | $63,490 | $73,932 | 80 |
| Little RockARKANSAS · AR | $63,190 | $70,711 | 490 |
| FayettevilleARKANSAS · AR | $50,820 | $55,630 | 250 |
See every metro in Arkansas.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Fort Smith area's unemployment rate was 4.1% in 2025 (all workers, not just telecom line installers), equal to the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.7% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Fort Smith area is 21 minutes each way, shorter than the typical metro (24 min). 9% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 78% drive alone, 0% take transit and 6% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Fort Smith area's population grew 3.1% from 2020 to 2025 (227,210 → 234,140), ranking #167 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +7,985) account for more than all of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
New construction
New-home permits in Fort Smith are roughly flat from 2021 to 2025 (662 → 663).
In 2025 the Fort Smith area approved permits for 663 new homes (245 single-family), or 2.9 per 1,000 residents, ranking #229 of 393 metros.
Working outdoors in Fort Smith Government data
In an average year, Fort Smith has 78 days at 90°F or hotter (more than most metros; typical metro 33), including 11 at 100°F or more, 63 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 66 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 3 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 92°F and winter nights 32°F. That matters for telecom line installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Ft Smith Rgnl Airport, AR station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $83,960 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get telecom line installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Fort Smith with another city →
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ToolFort Smith budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Fort Smith metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Fort Smith against every other metro for telecom line installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.
Report a data issue on this page
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for telecom line installers as a separate industry, so that section is left out.