How much do pipeline technicians make in 2026?
Pipeline technicians are reported inside SOC 49-9012, control and valve installers and repairers except mechanical door, which BLS OEWS May 2025 puts at a national median of $74,340 a year, or $35.74 an hour, with a P10 to P90 range of $45,910 to $112,500 across 48,240 workers. This is a broad match, since the code covers control and valve work across several industries rather than pipeline operations specifically. The defining feature of pipeline work is regulatory: under federal pipeline safety rules, individuals performing covered tasks on regulated pipelines must be qualified for each specific task through an operator qualification programme, with evaluation and periodic requalification. That structure means a technician's earning capacity is a direct function of the qualification portfolio they hold, and technicians add tasks deliberately over years. The other pay drivers are specialism and call-out. Integrity and corrosion work, measurement, and control systems and SCADA all sit above general maintenance, and technicians on call for emergency response earn differentials that a base salary does not show. BLS projects 1.3% growth through 2034 with roughly 3,900 openings a year. → Full pipeline technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $74,340 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Pipeline Technicians earn a national median $74,340/yr ($35.74/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9012); the P10 to P90 range is $45,910 to $112,500.
- Federal pipeline safety rules require task-specific operator qualification, so a technician's earning capacity tracks the portfolio of covered tasks they are qualified and evaluated to perform.
- Integrity and corrosion, measurement, and control systems specialisms sit above general maintenance in this band, and on-call differentials add to the total.
- Pipeline operations employment is considerably steadier than drilling-side oilfield work, because pipelines run whether or not new wells are being drilled.
US Pipeline Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do pipeline technicians earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 49-9012; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9012, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a pipeline technician earn at each career stage?
Pipeline technician pay follows the qualification portfolio and specialism. Each median below is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 49-9012.
By State
Which states pay pipeline technicians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates, not BLS state observations: the national median for SOC 49-9012 scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index. Pipeline employment follows the network rather than population centres, so technicians are based along corridors and at stations that a metropolitan wage index does not describe.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($85,490), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay pipeline technicians the most?
Metro figures are modeled, national median times state wage index times published metro index, not BLS metropolitan observations. Much pipeline work is rural and station-based, so this table is cost-of-living context for the technician's home base rather than the worksite.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a pipeline technician’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does pipeline technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Pipeline Technicians sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify pipeline technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a pipeline technician actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Pipeline Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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