Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Welder vs Power Line Installer
Welders earn a national median of $54,982 versus $101,512 for Power Line Installers, a gap of $46,530 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Welders have posted +4% 5-year wage growth versus +7% for Power Line Installers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Power Line Installers out-earn Welders on national median by $46,530 — $101,512 versus $54,982, or about 85% 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 Welders. 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.
Welders typically complete a 3-year apprenticeship while Power Line Installers require 4 years. The longer pathway usually translates into higher journeyman pay and stronger licensure protection, but it also delays full earnings; the shorter pathway delivers faster income at typically lower medians.
Welder
Welding · 3yr apprenticeship
Power Line Installer
Electrical · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Welder | Power Line Installer | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | $64,510 | $130,730 | -$66,220 |
| San Francisco, CA | $63,890 | $128,470 | -$64,580 |
| Boston, MA | $62,240 | $115,430 | -$53,190 |
| Portland, OR | $60,940 | $125,160 | -$64,220 |
| New York, NY | $60,840 | $119,760 | -$58,920 |
| New Orleans, LA | $60,590 | $76,710 | -$16,120 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $60,340 | $109,590 | -$49,250 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $58,930 | $96,150 | -$37,220 |
| Denver, CO | $58,700 | $99,550 | -$40,850 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $58,200 | $127,810 | -$69,610 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $57,520 | $120,260 | -$62,740 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $57,370 | $108,840 | -$51,470 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $56,110 | $115,770 | -$59,660 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $54,650 | $117,990 | -$63,340 |
| Raleigh, NC | $54,080 | $76,420 | -$22,340 |
| Houston, TX | $53,810 | $80,480 | -$26,670 |
| Charlotte, NC | $53,760 | $75,630 | -$21,870 |
| Kansas City, MO | $52,920 | $100,130 | -$47,210 |
| Miami, FL | $51,390 | $93,910 | -$42,520 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $51,080 | $105,910 | -$54,830 |
| Chicago, IL | $50,700 | $114,030 | -$63,330 |
| Nashville, TN | $50,660 | $77,280 | -$26,620 |
| Columbus, OH | $50,400 | $79,810 | -$29,410 |
| St. Louis, MO | $50,280 | $100,410 | -$50,130 |
| Detroit, MI | $50,250 | $106,360 | -$56,110 |
| Atlanta, GA | $49,590 | $82,050 | -$32,460 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $49,300 | $105,660 | -$56,360 |
| Dallas, TX | $49,290 | $77,860 | -$28,570 |
| Tampa, FL | $48,790 | $101,150 | -$52,360 |
| San Antonio, TX | $48,340 | $76,040 | -$27,700 |
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 Welders or Power Line Installers make more money?
Power Line Installers earn more on national median — $101,512 versus $54,982, a gap of $46,530 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 Welders. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
Welders typically complete a 3-year registered apprenticeship. Power Line Installers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Welders have 124,810 workers employed nationally; Power Line Installers have 39,600. 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 Welder and Power Line Installer 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/.
Welders earn a national median of $54,982 versus $101,512 for Power Line Installers, a gap of $46,530 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Welders have posted +4% 5-year wage growth versus +7% for Power Line Installers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both Welder and Power Line Installer. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Welder versus Power Line Installer, 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 Welder and Power Line Installer detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.