TradeSalary

Lineman salary in South Bend, IN-MI

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI area earn a median of $103,790 a year, or $49.90 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $125,230. That's 2% more than the Indiana median of $102,040.

Median yearly pay$103,790
Bottom 10% under$76,390Top 10% over$125,230
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$36.73/hr
Jobs in this area
130
After cost of living
$111,770
Median hourly pay
$49.90/hr
vs U.S. median
+9%
vs Indiana median
+2%
Mean (average) pay
$105,370 a year · $50.66 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 43780, South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI). 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 South Bend, IN-MI 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$36.73$76,390
25th percentile$48.02$99,880
Median (50th)$49.90$103,790
75th percentile$60.21$125,230
90th percentile$60.21$125,230

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

How South Bend, IN-MI compares

  • South Bend ranks 3rd of 6 Indiana metro areas for lineman pay.
  • Linemen are more concentrated in the South Bend area than nationally: 1.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in South Bend, IN-MI

Questions

Do linemen make more in South Bend or Chicago?
Chicago pays more: the median is $103,790 in South Bend and $123,430 in Chicago, a 16% 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 43780 (South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI). 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 (92.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures