Lineman salary in Traverse City, MI
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Linemen in the Traverse City, MI area earn a median of $108,970 a year, or $52.39 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $127,660 a year. Across all of Michigan, the median is $106,890, so Traverse City pays 2% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $40.24/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 60
- After cost of living
- $116,710
- Median hourly pay
- $52.39/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +14%
- vs Michigan median
- +2%
Apprentice and journeyman lineman pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $83,710–$94,620$40.24–$45.49/hr | |
| Journeyman | $108,970$52.39/hr | |
| Top earners | $119,840–$127,660$57.62–$61.38/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Traverse City, MI compares
- Traverse City has the highest lineman median of the 5 Michigan metro areas with published pay.
- Linemen hold about the same share of jobs in the Traverse City area as nationally: 0.9 of every 1,000 jobs.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $127,660, is 1.5 times the 10th-percentile wage, $83,710: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Michigan metro areas
Other trades in Traverse City, MI
Questions
- How much do linemen make in Traverse City, MI?
- Linemen in the Traverse City, MI area earn a median of $108,970 a year, or $52.39 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $127,660 a year.
- How much do linemen make an hour in Traverse City, MI?
- The median hourly wage is $52.39. The middle half earn between $45.49 and $57.62 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice linemen make in Traverse City, MI?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $40.24 an hour ($83,710 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $45.49.
- How much does a journeyman lineman make in Traverse City, MI?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $108,970 a year ($52.39 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $119,840–$127,660.
- Do linemen make more in Traverse City or Detroit?
- Traverse City pays more: the median is $108,970 in Traverse City and $104,360 in Detroit, a 4% difference.
- How does Traverse City pay compare with the rest of Michigan?
- The Traverse City median of $108,970 is 2% more than the Michigan median of $106,890.
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 45900 (Traverse City, 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 (93.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures