Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Power Line Installer vs Ironworker
Power Line Installers earn a national median of $101,512 versus $70,146 for Ironworkers, a gap of $31,366 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Power Line Installers have posted +7% 5-year wage growth versus +4% for Ironworkers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Power Line Installers out-earn Ironworkers on national median by $31,366 — $101,512 versus $70,146, or about 45% more. That gap reflects differences in apprenticeship length, certification requirements, industry concentration, and union footprint between the two trades.
Power Line Installers have grown faster — +7% over five years versus +4% for Ironworkers. Sustained growth gaps of this size can compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career, so workers comparing the two trades should weigh growth alongside the headline median.
Both trades follow a 4-year apprenticeship pathway — paid on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, registered through the U.S. Department of Labor at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/. Apprentice pay typically scales from roughly 40% of journeyman wage in year one to 95% by the final year.
Power Line Installer
Electrical · 4yr apprenticeship
Ironworker
Structural · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Power Line Installer | Ironworker | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | $130,730 | $117,110 | +$13,620 |
| San Francisco, CA | $128,470 | $58,700 | +$69,770 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $127,810 | $64,480 | +$63,330 |
| Portland, OR | $125,160 | $93,280 | +$31,880 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $120,260 | $99,570 | +$20,690 |
| New York, NY | $119,760 | $92,980 | +$26,780 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $117,990 | $67,010 | +$50,980 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $115,770 | $63,630 | +$52,140 |
| Chicago, IL | $114,030 | $93,190 | +$20,840 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $108,840 | $95,160 | +$13,680 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $105,660 | $62,980 | +$42,680 |
| Denver, CO | $99,550 | $58,710 | +$40,840 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $96,150 | $53,290 | +$42,860 |
| Miami, FL | $93,910 | $45,610 | +$48,300 |
| Atlanta, GA | $82,050 | $48,340 | +$33,710 |
| Houston, TX | $80,480 | $50,610 | +$29,870 |
| Dallas, TX | $77,860 | $49,300 | +$28,560 |
| Nashville, TN | $77,280 | $85,340 | -$8,060 |
| San Antonio, TX | $76,040 | $48,410 | +$27,630 |
| Charlotte, NC | $75,630 | $55,220 | +$20,410 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Power Line Installers or Ironworkers make more money?
Power Line Installers earn more on national median — $101,512 versus $70,146, a gap of $31,366 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
Power Line Installers have posted faster wage growth at +7% versus +4% for Ironworkers. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
Power Line Installers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Ironworkers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Power Line Installers have 39,600 workers employed nationally; Ironworkers have 5,830. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both Power Line Installer and Ironworker are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Power Line Installers earn a national median of $101,512 versus $70,146 for Ironworkers, a gap of $31,366 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Power Line Installers have posted +7% 5-year wage growth versus +4% for Ironworkers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both Power Line Installer and Ironworker. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Power Line Installer versus Ironworker, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual Power Line Installer and Ironworker detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.