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Lineworkers (power-line installers) in North Dakota: what they earn

Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers in North Dakota earned a median $105,870 a year in May 2025, $50.90 an hour. 740 people held the job, 1.7 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 11% above the national figure of $95,320, and North Dakota ranks 16 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual
$105,870
$50.90 an hour
Rank by pay
#16
of 51 with a published median
Employed in ND
740
1.7 per 1,000 jobs
Location quotient
2.04
1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in North Dakota

PointHourlyAnnualMeaning
10th percentile$29.34$61,020A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile$39.84$82,880A quarter earn less.
Median$50.90$105,870Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile$55.20$114,820A quarter earn more.
90th percentile$58.65$121,990A tenth earn more than this.
Mean$47.84$99,510The average. Pulled up by the top earners.

Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.

Pay by metro area in North Dakota

Fargo, ND-MN employs the most lineworkers of the 3 metro areas based in North Dakota that BLS publishes, 100, at a median $104,920 a year. The best-paid is Grand Forks, ND-MN at $113,700.

MetroEmployedMedian annual10th pct90th pct
Fargo, ND-MN 100 $104,920 $60,850 $121,070
Bismarck, ND 90 $104,800 $60,770 $125,010
Grand Forks, ND-MN 70 $113,700 $91,980 $121,540

Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown.

North Dakota against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#StateMedian annualEmployed
13 Michigan $106,890 2,800
14 Pennsylvania $106,230 4,150
15 Maryland $106,090 1,830
16 North Dakota $105,870 740
17 Wisconsin $105,820 2,520
18 Rhode Island $104,620 120
19 Minnesota $104,180 2,190

The complete ranking is on the Lineworkers (power-line installers) page.

Against the national figure

FigureNorth DakotaUnited States
Median annual$105,870$95,320
Median hourly$50.90$45.83
10th percentile, annual$61,020$51,470
90th percentile, annual$121,990$128,690
Employed740131,070

Apprenticeships in North Dakota

U.S. Department of Labor records list 58 registered apprentices active in North Dakota in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to electrical power-line installers and repairers (SOC 49-9051). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 29 apprentices started; 29 have a starting wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs here. Of those who completed that year, 22 have an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs.

Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →

Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.

Other trades in North Dakota

Electricians ($65,710) · Plumbers and pipefitters ($63,560) · HVAC technicians ($74,490) · Welders ($62,000) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($60,910) · Ironworkers ($82,120) · Sheet metal workers ($65,180) · Carpenters ($57,890) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($79,940) · Auto service technicians ($57,360) · Diesel mechanics ($66,110) · Heavy equipment operators ($62,150) · Machinists ($61,820)

See all 14 ranked by pay in North Dakota.

No state licensing records are sourced here for lineworkers. The steps into the trade are on the Lineworkers (power-line installers) page. Numbers on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; see how the numbers are built.