Do linemen make more in Manhattan or Topeka?

Topeka pays more: the median is $103,540 in Manhattan and $108,720 in Topeka, a 5% difference.

Lineman salary in Manhattan, KS

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Manhattan, KS area earn a median of $103,540 a year, or $49.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $120,380. Statewide, linemen earn a median of $101,620; Manhattan is 2% above it.

Median yearly pay$103,540

Bottom 10% under$45,600Top 10% over$120,380

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.93/hr
Jobs in this area: 50
After cost of living: $114,840
Median hourly pay: $49.78/hr
vs U.S. median: +9%
vs Kansas median: +2%
Mean (average) pay: $97,310 a year · $46.78 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 31740, Manhattan, KS). 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 Manhattan, KS 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	$21.93	$45,600
25th percentile	$38.23	$79,530
Median (50th)	$49.78	$103,540
75th percentile	$55.97	$116,420
90th percentile	$57.88	$120,380

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

How Manhattan, KS compares

Manhattan ranks 3rd of 7 Kansas metro areas for lineman pay.
Linemen are more concentrated in the Manhattan area than nationally: 1.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Kansas metro areas

Other trades in Manhattan, KS

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

Questions

Do linemen make more in Manhattan or Topeka?: Topeka pays more: the median is $103,540 in Manhattan and $108,720 in Topeka, a 5% 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 31740 (Manhattan, KS). 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 (90.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures