Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Power Line Installer Salary in New Orleans
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Electrical · COL Index: 95
Power Line Installers in New Orleans, LA earn a median annual wage of $76,710 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $47,140 and the 90th at $117,340. After cost of living, that translates to $80,747 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (77/100).
What Power Line Installers Take Home in New Orleans
The $70,200 spread between entry-level and top-decile power line installers in New Orleans is around 92% of the median — a typical range for skilled trades. Workers can roughly double their entry pay through a combination of experience, certifications, union membership, and moving from helper to journeyman to foreman roles.
New Orleans's cost-of-living index of 95 is within a few points of the U.S. average, so the $76,710 median for power line installers here translates almost directly into real purchasing power — roughly $80,747 in U.S.-average terms. What you see is what you take home, with no significant adjustment up or down.
With a Trade Pay Score of 77 (B), power line installers in New Orleans 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) | $47,140 | $49,621 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $62,540 | $65,832 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $76,710 | $80,747 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $99,320 | $104,547 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $117,340 | $123,516 |
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 power line installers, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in New Orleans are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Power Line Installer make in New Orleans?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median power line installer salary in New Orleans, LA is $76,710. The 10th percentile is $47,140 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $117,340 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does New Orleans pay compare for Power Line Installers?
With a Trade Pay Score of 77/100 and a grade of B, the New Orleans-Power Line Installer 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 Power Line Installers in New Orleans?
Power Line Installers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($47,140) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Power Line Installer pay in New Orleans?
New Orleans has a cost-of-living index of 95. The median power line installer salary of $76,710 translates to $80,747 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.
Other High-Paying Trades in New Orleans
$108,100 median · Grade B
$81,110 median · Grade C
$79,890 median · Grade B
$76,710 median · Grade B
$75,370 median · Grade C
$68,970 median · Grade C
Power Line Installers in New Orleans, LA earn a median annual wage of $76,710 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $47,140 and the 90th at $117,340. After cost of living, that translates to $80,747 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (77/100).
The Power Line Installers in New Orleans, LA record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how Power Line Installers in New Orleans, LA 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.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for Power Line Installers in New Orleans, LA is typically a peer within U.S. trades, cities, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.