How much do power-line workers make in Colorado in 2026?

Power-line workers in Colorado earn a median of $103,980 a year, which works out to about $49.99 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That puts this trade comfortably above most skilled construction and utility occupations in the state. The spread from entry-level to experienced is wide: workers at the 25th percentile pull in $74,450 (~$35.79/hr), while those at the 75th percentile reach $121,200 (~$58.27/hr). That's a $46,750 gap between the lower and upper quartiles, which tells you experience and specialization matter a lot in this trade.

The 25th percentile figure — $74,450 or $35.79 an hour — typically reflects journeyworkers who are newer to the trade or working in less demanding service territories. It's not a beginner's wage; apprentices in the earlier years of their program generally earn a percentage of journeyworker scale and would fall below this threshold. By the time a worker clears the apprenticeship and logs a few years on the line, $74,000-plus is a realistic floor.

The median of $103,980 is where most experienced journeyworkers land. In Colorado, that means a working lineworker with a solid book of hours and a track record on transmission, distribution, or substation work. At roughly $50 an hour straight time, this is a strong wage — particularly when you account for the overtime that is common in this trade. Power restoration after storms, planned outages, and system upgrades frequently push weekly hours well beyond 40. A worker at the median straight-time rate who logs 200 overtime hours in a year (paid at 1.5x) adds roughly $15,000 to their gross pay, pushing total earnings closer to $119,000. That's significant and it's not unusual given Colorado's weather patterns — heavy spring storms, ice events, and high-wind conditions along the Front Range and mountains keep crews busy.

The 75th percentile sits at $121,200 (~$58.27/hr). Workers in this bracket tend to be senior journeyworkers, foremen, or those with specialized certifications — transmission-line work, substation switching, or high-voltage system operation all command more. Supervisory lineworkers and working foremen who still turn wrenches can land in this range or above it.

Geography within Colorado plays a real role in where on this scale you end up. The Denver metro and the Front Range corridor have the highest concentration of utility infrastructure and therefore the most job openings and competitive wages. Rural co-ops in eastern Colorado and the Western Slope also employ line crews, and while the work is similar, wages can vary depending on the employer and the local cost of doing business. Some rural cooperative positions include housing allowances or per-diem structures for travel that don't show up in the BLS hourly figure but add real value.

The path into this trade almost always runs through a formal apprenticeship — typically four or five years combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction in electrical theory, safety, and equipment operation. Colorado has no single statewide licensing requirement specifically for distribution lineworkers, but most utilities require completion of a recognized apprenticeship program and adherence to OSHA 1910.269 standards for electrical utility work. CDL endorsements are nearly always required for operating the line trucks, and some employers want additional certifications for aerial lifts and first aid/CPR.

Some workers in this trade are covered by collective bargaining agreements. If you're covered by one, your wage scale, overtime rules, and benefit contributions are set in that agreement — check with your local directly for current rates. Workers at non-union utilities are generally on individual compensation structures set by the employer.

The BLS OEWS figures cited here are from the May 2025 survey and represent base wages — they do not include employer contributions to health insurance, pension or 401(k) plans, tool allowances, or per-diem pay. In a trade where employer-paid benefits can be substantial, total compensation often runs meaningfully higher than the wage number alone.

If you want to move up this pay scale, the clearest levers are: completing your apprenticeship fully, earning line-clearance tree trimming or transmission certifications, moving into a foreman role, or pursuing work with investor-owned utilities or large contractors that handle transmission-level projects. Storm-response travel work — going out of state with a utility crew during major outages — can also significantly boost annual earnings in any given year, though it's not guaranteed income.