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

The median pay for a power-line worker in Missouri is $96,360 a year, which works out to roughly $46.33 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number comes from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data for May 2025 and represents the midpoint — half of Missouri's power-line workers earn more, half earn less.

The spread across the pay range is significant. Workers at the 25th percentile — those earlier in their careers or working in lower-paying markets — bring in $75,040 a year, or about $36.08 an hour. Workers at the 75th percentile earn $102,610 a year, roughly $49.33 an hour. The gap between the bottom quartile and the top quartile is more than $27,500 annually, which tells you experience, employer, and location all move the needle in a real way.

Power-line work in Missouri covers a wide range of duties: stringing and repairing high-voltage transmission lines, maintaining distribution systems, setting poles, and responding to outages. The physical demands are serious — working at height, in all weather, often in emergency conditions after storms. That risk profile is part of why this trade pays well above most other construction and extraction occupations in the state.

Where you work within Missouri matters. The Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas tend to have more consistent year-round work and larger utility employers with structured pay scales. Rural cooperative territories across the central and southern parts of the state may offer different compensation structures, though storm-response and line-maintenance work keeps demand steady across the whole state.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Power-line workers are among the first called during severe weather events, and Missouri sees its share of ice storms, thunderstorm outages, and tornado damage. A worker sitting at the median base rate of $46.33 an hour earns $69.50 at time-and-a-half overtime. Significant overtime seasons can push annual take-home well above the BLS figures, which are based on straight-time wages and do not capture overtime earnings.

Getting into the trade typically means completing a formal apprenticeship program, which in Missouri usually runs four to five years and combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction covering electrical theory, safety, climbing, and equipment operation. Apprentices start at a fraction of journeyman scale and step up at regular intervals, so where you land on the pay range depends heavily on how far along you are in that progression.

Some Missouri power-line workers are employed under collective bargaining agreements. If you work under a union contract, your pay, overtime rules, and benefits are set by that agreement — check directly with your local's contract rather than relying solely on statewide BLS averages, which blend both union and non-union workers.

Non-union workers employed by investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, or line contractors may have different pay structures, including performance reviews, tenure steps, or project-based pay. Contractors who chase storm work across multiple states can sometimes earn more in a given year by stacking overtime and per-diem allowances, though that comes with less schedule stability.

Raising your pay in this trade generally comes down to a few levers: accumulating journeyman hours and certifications, moving into foreman or crew-lead roles, specializing in substation work or underground systems, or positioning yourself with employers who handle transmission (higher voltage, typically higher pay) rather than distribution. Linemen who can operate multiple types of equipment and hold additional safety certifications tend to be first in line for the better-paying assignments.

The BLS figures here reflect base wages for employed workers and do not include benefits such as employer-paid health insurance, pensions, or tool and vehicle allowances — all of which are common in this trade and add real value to the total compensation picture beyond what the hourly rate alone suggests.