Do linemen make more in Fargo or Grand Forks?

Grand Forks pays more: the median is $104,920 in Fargo and $113,700 in Grand Forks, a 8% difference.

Lineman salary in Fargo, ND-MN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Fargo, ND-MN area earn a median of $104,920 a year, or $50.44 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $121,070. Statewide, linemen earn a median of $105,870; Fargo is 1% below it.

Median yearly pay$104,920

Bottom 10% under$60,850Top 10% over$121,070

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $29.26/hr
Jobs in this area: 100
After cost of living: $115,460
Median hourly pay: $50.44/hr
vs U.S. median: +10%
vs North Dakota median: −1%
Mean (average) pay: $95,140 a year · $45.74 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 22020, Fargo, ND-MN). 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 Fargo, ND-MN 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	$29.26	$60,850
25th percentile	$29.26	$60,860
Median (50th)	$50.44	$104,920
75th percentile	$54.51	$113,380
90th percentile	$58.21	$121,070

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

How Fargo, ND-MN compares

Fargo ranks 2nd of 3 North Dakota metro areas for lineman pay.
Linemen are less concentrated in the Fargo area than nationally: 0.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.77 times the U.S. share.

Other North Dakota metro areas

Other trades in Fargo, ND-MN

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

Questions

Do linemen make more in Fargo or Grand Forks?: Grand Forks pays more: the median is $104,920 in Fargo and $113,700 in Grand Forks, a 8% 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 22020 (Fargo, ND-MN). 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 (90.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures