Lineman salary in Rapid City, SD
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Linemen in the Rapid City, SD area earn a median of $95,220 a year, or $45.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $116,190 a year. Across all of South Dakota, the median is $97,310, so Rapid City pays 2% less than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $23.90/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 120
- After cost of living
- $106,800
- Median hourly pay
- $45.78/hr
- vs U.S. median
- 0%
- vs South Dakota median
- −2%
Apprentice and journeyman lineman pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $49,720–$63,040$23.90–$30.31/hr | |
| Journeyman | $95,220$45.78/hr | |
| Top earners | $101,670–$116,190$48.88–$55.86/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Rapid City, SD compares
- Rapid City has the lowest lineman median of the 3 South Dakota metro areas with published pay.
- Linemen are more concentrated in the Rapid City area than nationally: 1.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.9 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $116,190, is 2.3 times the 10th-percentile wage, $49,720: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other South Dakota metro areas
Other trades in Rapid City, SD
Questions
- How much do linemen make in Rapid City, SD?
- Linemen in the Rapid City, SD area earn a median of $95,220 a year, or $45.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $116,190 a year.
- How much do linemen make an hour in Rapid City, SD?
- The median hourly wage is $45.78. The middle half earn between $30.31 and $48.88 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice linemen make in Rapid City, SD?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $23.90 an hour ($49,720 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $30.31.
- How much does a journeyman lineman make in Rapid City, SD?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $95,220 a year ($45.78 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $101,670–$116,190.
- Do linemen make more in Rapid City or Sioux Falls?
- Sioux Falls pays more: the median is $95,220 in Rapid City and $102,600 in Sioux Falls, a 7% difference.
- How does Rapid City pay compare with the rest of South Dakota?
- The Rapid City median of $95,220 is 2% less than the South Dakota median of $97,310.
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 39660 (Rapid City, SD). 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 (89.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures