How much do telecom installers make in 2026?
Telecom installers are counted in the BLS telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers series: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 49-2022 a national median of $63,890 a year ($30.72 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $44,240 and the top 10% at $96,730. The series pools several distinct jobs, and telecom installer is the broadest title inside it — used for everything from residential service installation to installing carrier equipment in central offices and data centres. That ambiguity is worth resolving before comparing an offer to any figure. Commercial and carrier-grade installation is the better-paid half: building out equipment rooms, installing and grounding racks and cabinets, running and dressing power and fiber, terminating structured cabling to standard and turning up systems for acceptance. It demands precision, standards knowledge and the discipline to produce work that will be inspected. Residential and small premises installation is the other half, high volume and time-pressured, sitting below the median. The skills that move an installer between them are structured cabling to recognised standard, fiber termination and testing, and grounding and bonding practice. Employment is projected to decline 4.2% through 2034, with roughly 13,200 openings a year. → Full telecom installer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $63,890 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Telecom Installers earn a national median $63,890/yr ($30.72/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-2022); the P10 to P90 range is $44,240 to $96,730.
- Telecom installer is the broadest title in this series, covering everything from residential service visits to installing carrier equipment in central offices and data centres.
- Carrier-grade and commercial installation pays materially better, because the work is inspected against standards and demands precision in racking, grounding, cabling and turn-up.
- Structured cabling to recognised standard, fiber termination and testing, and grounding and bonding practice are what move an installer from one half of the band to the other.
US Telecom Installer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do telecom installers 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 49-2022; 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 49-2022, 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 telecom installer earn at each career stage?
Installer pay follows the standard your work has to meet. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 49-2022.
By State
Which states pay telecom installers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national telecom equipment installer median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Installation pay depends heavily on whether the local market is residential service work or commercial and data-centre buildout, which a state wage index does not distinguish.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($73,470), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay telecom installers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Data-centre and carrier-hotel metros carry the best-paid installation work.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a telecom installer’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 telecom installer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Telecom Installers 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 telecom installer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a telecom installer 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
Telecom Installer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
Telecom Installer career research journey
Do your homework, then let the network do the rest.Get the job, then keep rising
FreeSet your intent, matching jobs come to you. No applying.
A roadmap to your next licence tier and higher pay band.
Once placed, we cover all certification, licence & career-guide fees.
Hiring telecom installers?
Get a verified shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates in 48 hours
GlobalCybers verifies active state licenses, trade certifications, Intent and right-to-work status before any candidate reaches your portal. Flat $2,999/mo RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), up to 3 concurrent roles, or a free trial (pay on hire). 90-day written guarantee.
Related · Telecom Installer
Everything for telecom installers in one place
Salary data, licensing, interview prep, and hiring, all cross-linked so you (and search engines) can move through the full telecom installer cluster.