Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Wind Turbine Technician Salary in Los Angeles
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Energy · COL Index: 166
Wind Turbine Technicians in Los Angeles, CA earn a median annual wage of $105,370 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $59,930 and the 90th at $160,120. After cost of living, that translates to $63,476 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: A (91/100).
What Wind Turbine Technicians Take Home in Los Angeles
The $100,190 spread between entry-level and top-decile wind turbine technicians in Los Angeles is around 95% 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.
Los Angeles's cost-of-living index of 166 is well above the U.S. average — meaning a wind turbine technician earning $105,370 here brings home roughly $63,476 in U.S.-average purchasing power. That gap between nominal and real pay is one of the largest in the country and reflects expensive housing, transportation, and services. Workers should weigh whether the headline pay actually clears the cost-of-living premium.
With a Trade Pay Score of 91 (A), wind turbine technicians in Los Angeles land in the top tier nationally. The grade combines strong nominal pay, healthy 5-year wage growth, deep employment, and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power that holds up well. This is a high-confidence trade-city pairing — workers entering this combination can reasonably expect strong real take-home pay over a multi-year career.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $59,930 | $36,102 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $73,750 | $44,428 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $105,370 | $63,476 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $160,120 | $96,458 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $160,120 | $96,458 |
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 wind turbine technicians, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Los Angeles are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Wind Turbine Technician make in Los Angeles?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median wind turbine technician salary in Los Angeles, CA is $105,370. The 10th percentile is $59,930 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $160,120 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Los Angeles pay compare for Wind Turbine Technicians?
With a Trade Pay Score of 91/100 and a grade of A, the Los Angeles-Wind Turbine Technician pairing is a top-tier combination — strong nominal pay, healthy growth, and good real purchasing power.
What is the apprenticeship path for Wind Turbine Technicians in Los Angeles?
Wind Turbine Technicians typically complete a 2-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($59,930) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Wind Turbine Technician pay in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has a cost-of-living index of 166. The median wind turbine technician salary of $105,370 translates to $63,476 in U.S.-average purchasing power — a downward adjustment because the metro is more 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.
Wind Turbine Technicians in Los Angeles, CA earn a median annual wage of $105,370 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $59,930 and the 90th at $160,120. After cost of living, that translates to $63,476 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: A (91/100).
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
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 this entity 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.