How much do transmission line engineers make in 2026?
Transmission line engineers are counted in the BLS electrical engineer series, with no code of their own: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 17-2071 a national median of $120,630 a year ($58.00 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $76,550 and the top 10% at $184,300. Say clearly that this pools transmission line design with semiconductor, electronics and product engineering, all of which have different labour markets. It is also worth distinguishing the role from the craft it is named after: linemen who build and maintain the lines are a separate BLS occupation in the electrical power-line series, and this page is about the engineers who design what those crews build. The specialism is an unusual hybrid — part electrical, part structural. Transmission line engineers design conductor selection and sag-tension, clearances, insulation coordination and lightning performance alongside structure loading, foundations and right-of-way constraints, using specialist software such as PLS-CADD. Very few universities teach it, so almost everyone learns it on the job, and the current volume of transmission work has made experienced line designers genuinely scarce. That scarcity, plus PE licensure, is what carries engineers into the upper half of the band. Employment is projected to grow 7.2% through 2034 with roughly 11,700 openings a year. → Full transmission line engineer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $120,630 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Transmission Line Engineers earn a national median $120,630/yr ($58.00/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 17-2071); the P10 to P90 range is $76,550 to $184,300.
- This is the engineering role, not the craft: linemen who build and maintain transmission lines are a separate BLS occupation with their own, higher craft median.
- The specialism is a hybrid of electrical and structural engineering — sag-tension and clearances alongside structure loading and foundations — and is taught almost entirely on the job.
- Transmission buildout has made experienced line designers scarce, and scarcity plus PE licensure is what carries engineers into the upper half of the pooled electrical band.
US Transmission Line Engineer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do transmission line engineers 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 17-2071; 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 17-2071, 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 transmission line engineer earn at each career stage?
Transmission line engineering pay follows how much of a line design you can own and seal. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 17-2071.
By State
Which states pay transmission line engineers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national electrical engineer median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations, and they describe the whole electrical series rather than transmission line design. Real demand follows regional transmission planning, interconnection backlogs and resilience programmes rather than general state wage levels.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($138,720), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay transmission line engineers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national electrical 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. Utility and large-consultancy offices concentrate this work regardless of where the lines themselves run.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a transmission line engineer’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 transmission line engineer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Transmission Line Engineers 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 transmission line engineer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a transmission line engineer 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
Transmission Line Engineer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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