Lineman salary in Lake Charles, LA
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Linemen in the Lake Charles, LA area earn a median of $78,190 a year, or $37.59 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $114,330 a year. Across all of Louisiana, the median is $76,410, so Lake Charles pays 2% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $23.35/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 140
- After cost of living
- $91,080
- Median hourly pay
- $37.59/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −18%
- vs Louisiana median
- +2%
Apprentice and journeyman lineman pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $48,580–$61,550$23.35–$29.59/hr | |
| Journeyman | $78,190$37.59/hr | |
| Top earners | $110,840–$114,330$53.29–$54.97/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Lake Charles, LA compares
- Lake Charles ranks 3rd of 8 Louisiana metro areas for lineman pay.
- Linemen are more concentrated in the Lake Charles area than nationally: 1.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.6 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $114,330, is 2.4 times the 10th-percentile wage, $48,580: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Louisiana metro areas
Other trades in Lake Charles, LA
Questions
- How much do linemen make in Lake Charles, LA?
- Linemen in the Lake Charles, LA area earn a median of $78,190 a year, or $37.59 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $114,330 a year.
- How much do linemen make an hour in Lake Charles, LA?
- The median hourly wage is $37.59. The middle half earn between $29.59 and $53.29 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice linemen make in Lake Charles, LA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.35 an hour ($48,580 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $29.59.
- How much does a journeyman lineman make in Lake Charles, LA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $78,190 a year ($37.59 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $110,840–$114,330.
- Do linemen make more in Lake Charles or Shreveport?
- Shreveport pays more: the median is $78,190 in Lake Charles and $79,840 in Shreveport, a 2% difference.
- How does Lake Charles pay compare with the rest of Louisiana?
- The Lake Charles median of $78,190 is 2% more than the Louisiana median of $76,410.
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 29340 (Lake Charles, LA). 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 (85.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures