Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Electrical Power-Line Tech Salary in Pittsburgh
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Electrical · COL Index: 92
Electrical Power-Line Techs in Pittsburgh, PA earn a median annual wage of $105,910 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $48,280 and the 90th at $113,230. After cost of living, that translates to $115,120 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (80/100).
What Electrical Power-Line Techs Take Home in Pittsburgh
The $64,950 spread between entry-level and top-decile electrical power-line techs in Pittsburgh is relatively narrow — about 61% of the median. That tight band usually signals a trade where pay scales primarily with experience rather than employer or specialization. New entrants can expect to climb steadily toward median pay over their first 5-10 years.
Pittsburgh's cost-of-living index of 92 sits below the U.S. average, so the $105,910 median wage for electrical power-line techs here actually translates upward — to roughly $115,120 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Below-average rent, groceries, and services mean wages tend to go further here than nominal numbers suggest.
With a Trade Pay Score of 80 (B), electrical power-line techs in Pittsburgh land in the strong second tier. Pay, growth, and purchasing power are all solid but one factor — usually wage growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay — keeps the score below the A threshold. For most workers, B-graded combinations are perfectly reasonable career choices.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $48,280 | $52,478 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $78,280 | $85,087 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $105,910 | $115,120 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $108,140 | $117,543 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $113,230 | $123,076 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure here comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — a survey of about 1.2 million employers per release covering more than 800 occupations and every U.S. metropolitan statistical area. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade. Read the full methodology.
Career outlook detail — projected 2032 employment levels for electrical power-line techs, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Pittsburgh are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Electrical Power-Line Tech make in Pittsburgh?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median electrical power-line tech salary in Pittsburgh, PA is $105,910. The 10th percentile is $48,280 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $113,230 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Pittsburgh pay compare for Electrical Power-Line Techs?
With a Trade Pay Score of 80/100 and a grade of B, the Pittsburgh-Electrical Power-Line Tech pairing is a strong combination but with one factor (usually growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay) holding it back from an A grade.
What is the apprenticeship path for Electrical Power-Line Techs in Pittsburgh?
Electrical Power-Line Techs typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($48,280) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Electrical Power-Line Tech pay in Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh has a cost-of-living index of 92. The median electrical power-line tech salary of $105,910 translates to $115,120 in U.S.-average purchasing power — an upward adjustment because the metro is less expensive than average.
Where does this salary data come from?
Every wage figure on this page is a real BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median or percentile from the 2024 release at https://www.bls.gov/oes/, which surveys roughly 1.2 million U.S. employers per release. Career outlook context (projected employment growth through 2032) comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Both are public-domain U.S. government data sources.
Electrical Power-Line Techs in Pittsburgh, PA earn a median annual wage of $105,910 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $48,280 and the 90th at $113,230. After cost of living, that translates to $115,120 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (80/100).
The this entity record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. trades, cities, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.