How much do linemen make an hour in Winston, NC?

The median hourly wage is $47.46. The middle half earn between $32.62 and $50.06 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)

What do apprentice linemen make in Winston, NC?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $27.44 an hour ($57,070 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $32.62.

How much does a journeyman lineman make in Winston, NC?

BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $98,720 a year ($47.46 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $104,110–$111,180.

Do linemen make more in Winston or Charlotte?

Winston pays more: the median is $98,720 in Winston and $81,740 in Charlotte, a 21% difference.

How does Winston pay compare with the rest of North Carolina?

The Winston median of $98,720 is 28% more than the North Carolina median of $77,270.

Lineman salary in Winston, NC

Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Winston–Salem, NC area earn a median of $98,720 a year, or $47.46 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $111,180 a year. Across all of North Carolina, the median is $77,270, so Winston pays 28% more than the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$98,720

Bottom 10% under$57,070Top 10% over$111,180

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $27.44/hr
Jobs in this area: 110
After cost of living: $107,250
Median hourly pay: $47.46/hr
vs U.S. median: +4%
vs North Carolina median: +28%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 49180, Winston-Salem, NC). 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.

Apprentice and journeyman lineman pay

Stage	Yearly pay	Hourly pay
Apprentice	$57,070–$67,860$27.44–$32.62/hr
Journeyman	$98,720$47.46/hr
Top earners	$104,110–$111,180$50.06–$53.45/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Winston, NC compares

Winston has the highest lineman median of the 13 North Carolina metro areas with published pay.
Linemen are less concentrated in the Winston area than nationally: 0.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.46 times the U.S. share.
The 90th-percentile wage, $111,180, is 1.9 times the 10th-percentile wage, $57,070: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other North Carolina metro areas

Other trades in Winston, NC

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Plumber

Questions

How much do linemen make in Winston, NC?: Linemen in the Winston–Salem, NC area earn a median of $98,720 a year, or $47.46 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $111,180 a year.
How much do linemen make an hour in Winston, NC?: The median hourly wage is $47.46. The middle half earn between $32.62 and $50.06 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice linemen make in Winston, NC?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $27.44 an hour ($57,070 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $32.62.
How much does a journeyman lineman make in Winston, NC?: BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $98,720 a year ($47.46 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $104,110–$111,180.
Do linemen make more in Winston or Charlotte?: Winston pays more: the median is $98,720 in Winston and $81,740 in Charlotte, a 21% difference.
How does Winston pay compare with the rest of North Carolina?: The Winston median of $98,720 is 28% more than the North Carolina median of $77,270.

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 49180 (Winston-Salem, NC). 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 (92.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures