Telecom Line Installers in the Salinas area earn a median of $100,970 a year, 52% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #15 of 235 metros for telecom line installer pay nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in San Jose, but less in Merced.
It's one of 21 California metros with published pay for this trade; see telecom line installers across California.
Telecom Line Installer pay in Salinas at a glance
- Telecom line installers in the Salinas, CA metro earn a median $100,970 a year ($48.54 an hour), #15 of 235 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $65,180 and $122,330.
- After local prices, that median buys what $92,597 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $2,009 a month, 24% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among telecom line installers in Salinas.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker. The median here works out to about $49 an hour in yearly terms.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for telecom line installers here is in the top 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (7.9%) and the population is shrinking (-1.5% since 2020).
Salinas scorecard for telecom line installers Our calculation
Grades compare Salinas 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 Salinas area went from $95,950 in 2020 to $100,970 in 2025, up 5.2%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -16.1% — a real pay cut.
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 Salinas Our calculation
Prices in Salinas run 9% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $92,597 would in a typical place, ranking #38 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 Salinas 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 California Official source
The main state licensing office in California is the Contractors State License Board. Licenses all trades by classification (e.g. C-10 electrical; C-36 plumbing). It can point you to the right license for telecom line installers.
Official California 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 CA metros for telecom line installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San JoseCALIFORNIA · CA | $107,310 | $97,181 | 390 |
| San FranciscoCALIFORNIA · CA | $103,500 | $89,523 | 1,240 |
| El CentroCALIFORNIA · CA | $101,650 | $106,804 | 40 |
| SalinasCALIFORNIA · CA | $100,970 | $92,597 | 50 |
| StocktonCALIFORNIA · CA | $100,460 | $95,595 | 120 |
| ModestoCALIFORNIA · CA | $100,400 | $96,438 | 120 |
| San Luis ObispoCALIFORNIA · CA | $99,840 | $91,937 | 80 |
| Santa RosaCALIFORNIA · CA | $99,560 | $92,370 | 180 |
| ChicoCALIFORNIA · CA | $99,040 | $97,869 | 50 |
| VallejoCALIFORNIA · CA | $97,980 | $90,322 | 120 |
See every metro in California.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Salinas area's unemployment rate was 7.9% in 2025 (all workers, not just telecom line installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 8.4% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Salinas area is 26 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 14% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 75% drive alone, 1% take transit and 8% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Salinas area's population shrank 1.5% from 2020 to 2025 (440,493 → 433,729), ranking #355 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -19,591).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
New construction
New-home permits in Salinas are down 12% from 2021 to 2025 (882 → 775).
In 2025 the Salinas area approved permits for 775 new homes (663 single-family), or 1.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #310 of 393 metros.
Traveling here for work
Out-of-town telecom line installers on travel jobs here are often paid per diem. The federal rate is $218 a night for lodging, up to $293 a night in peak season plus $92 a day for meals, the Monterey rate: about $2,170 a week on top of wages. Compare a travel job here with a local one.
GSA per diem rates, FY2027 (October 2026–September 2027). Employers set their own per diem; many use the GSA rate as a guide.
Working outdoors in Salinas Government data
In an average year, Salinas has 6 days at 90°F or hotter (fewer than most metros; typical metro 33), 6 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 30 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more. Summer afternoons average 71°F and winter nights 42°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, Salinas Municipal Airport, CA 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 $100,970 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 Salinas with another city →
Keep exploring
Could this trade pay more somewhere else?
ToolBest cities for telecom line installersRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in SalinasSee where it falls among local telecom line installers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolSalinas budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Salinas 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 Salinas 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.