Do linemen make more in Portland or Eugene?

Eugene pays more: the median is $135,300 in Portland and $140,270 in Eugene, a 4% difference.

Lineman salary in Portland, OR-WA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA area earn a median of $135,300 a year, or $65.05 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $161,180 a year. Statewide, linemen earn a median of $131,090; Portland is 3% above it.

Median yearly pay$135,300

Bottom 10% under$79,650Top 10% over$161,180

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $38.29/hr
Jobs in this area: 810
After cost of living: $128,340
Median hourly pay: $65.05/hr
vs U.S. median: +42%
vs Oregon median: +3%
Mean (average) pay: $125,220 a year · $60.20 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 38900, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA). 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 Portland, OR-WA 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	$38.29	$79,650
25th percentile	$50.05	$104,090
Median (50th)	$65.05	$135,300
75th percentile	$67.95	$141,330
90th percentile	$77.49	$161,180

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

How Portland, OR-WA compares

Portland ranks 2nd of 6 Oregon metro areas for lineman pay.
Linemen are less concentrated in the Portland area than nationally: 0.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.80 times the U.S. share.

Other Oregon metro areas

Other trades in Portland, OR-WA

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

Questions

Do linemen make more in Portland or Eugene?: Eugene pays more: the median is $135,300 in Portland and $140,270 in Eugene, a 4% 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 38900 (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA). 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 (105.4, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures