Do linemen make more in Richmond or Washington?

Washington pays more: the median is $78,110 in Richmond and $95,480 in Washington, a 18% difference.

Lineman salary in Richmond, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Linemen in the Richmond, VA area earn a median of $78,110 a year, or $37.55 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $105,600 a year. Statewide, linemen earn a median of $76,590; Richmond is 2% above it.

Median yearly pay$78,110

Bottom 10% under$50,920Top 10% over$105,600

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $24.48/hr
Jobs in this area: 490
After cost of living: $79,820
Median hourly pay: $37.55/hr
vs U.S. median: −18%
vs Virginia median: +2%
Mean (average) pay: $78,200 a year · $37.59 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40060, Richmond, VA). 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 Richmond, VA 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	$24.48	$50,920
25th percentile	$29.05	$60,410
Median (50th)	$37.55	$78,110
75th percentile	$48.31	$100,480
90th percentile	$50.77	$105,600

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

How Richmond, VA compares

Richmond ranks 5th of 6 Virginia metro areas for lineman pay.
Linemen are less concentrated in the Richmond area than nationally: 0.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.89 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Richmond, VA

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

Questions

Do linemen make more in Richmond or Washington?: Washington pays more: the median is $78,110 in Richmond and $95,480 in Washington, a 18% 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 40060 (Richmond, VA). 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 (97.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures