Outside lineman pay
IBEW lineman pay scale
Checked against official pages October 24, 2026. Non-official sources are labeled.
Journeyman base wage per hour, from federal Davis-Bacon determinations. Not per diem, not the full package.
What these numbers are, and aren’t
They’re the union journeyman lineman rates in federal Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage determinations, which adopt the local’s negotiated rate for the area. “Fringe” is what the employer pays into benefits (pension, health, training) per hour on top of base. They don’t include per diem, overtime, storm-work premiums or foreman pay, and a new contract can raise the scale before the determination catches up. “Rate filed” is the date printed next to the rate in the determination.
Apprentice lineman pay
Apprentices earn a percentage of the journeyman rate that rises each step (usually every 1,000 hours). The programs that publish their ladder:
| Program | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SELCAT | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% | 90% |
| NEAT | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% | 90% |
| Cal-Nev | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% | 90% |
| NW Line | 60% | 63% | 67% | 72% | 78% | 86% | 90% |
| Mountain States | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% | 90% |
We couldn’t find a readable pay ladder for ALBAT, Mo Valley (it posts a wage-map image), SWLCAT or AJEATT. A step-1 apprentice at a local paying $60.00 base starts around $36.00 an hour on a 60% ladder.
Why states without rates are missing
Federal determinations only carry a union lineman rate where one was submitted for line work. In 23 states, including all nine of SELCAT’s southeastern states, there isn’t one, so we don’t show a number rather than borrow one from somewhere else. SELCAT publishes its own journeyman range on its site.
Nationally, O*NET puts the median for electrical power-line installers and repairers at about $95,320 a year. That includes non-union and utility jobs.
Where these facts come from · all checked October 24, 2026