Do linemen make more in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham?

Birmingham pays more: the median is $95,290 in Tuscaloosa and $102,470 in Birmingham, a 7% difference.

Lineman salary in Tuscaloosa, AL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Tuscaloosa, AL area earn a median of $95,290 a year, or $45.81 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $102,160. That's 4% more than the Alabama median of $92,030.

Median yearly pay$95,290

Bottom 10% under$46,660Top 10% over$102,160

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.43/hr
Jobs in this area: 90
After cost of living: $108,630
Median hourly pay: $45.81/hr
vs U.S. median: 0%
vs Alabama median: +4%
Mean (average) pay: $87,550 a year · $42.09 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 46220, Tuscaloosa, AL). Excludes self-employed linemen. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What linemen in Tuscaloosa, AL earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.

Percentile	Hourly	Yearly
10th percentile	$22.43	$46,660
25th percentile	$35.50	$73,840
Median (50th)	$45.81	$95,290
75th percentile	$49.11	$102,160
90th percentile	$49.11	$102,160

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Tuscaloosa, AL compares

Tuscaloosa ranks 6th of 12 Alabama metro areas for lineman pay.
Linemen hold about the same share of jobs in the Tuscaloosa area as nationally: 0.8 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other Alabama metro areas

Other trades in Tuscaloosa, AL

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic Ironworker Millwright

Questions

Do linemen make more in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham?: Birmingham pays more: the median is $95,290 in Tuscaloosa and $102,470 in Birmingham, a 7% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-9051 (Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers), area code 46220 (Tuscaloosa, AL). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed linemen and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (87.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures