Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$91,556
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$37,484
29.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,325
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$129,040
Kept after tax
$91,556
Worth in national money
$81,325
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $129,040, which ranks 4 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 35.38% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 64 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $129,040 the take-home is $91,556; in national-average money that behaves like $81,325. The average lands at $125,270, below the middle of the range.
- California ranks 4 of 51 states publishing a median for electrical power-line installers and repairers, at $129,040 — about 35.38% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, electrical power-line installers and repairers sits 64 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Take-home for electrical power-line installers and repairers in California, on $129,040, is $91,556; deflated by the state's price level, $81,325. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $125,270 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $129,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $167,090 |
| This salary | $129,040 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in California | $91,556 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,465 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$21,032 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $117,592 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$29,257 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $129,040. The published range is $77,350 up to $167,090, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $91,556, from $129,040, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 64 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $81,325, the adjusted value of that $129,040 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 64 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for electrical power-line installers and repairers in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $77,350 to $167,090. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $91,556 from $129,040. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 64 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $81,325 — the adjusted value of that $129,040 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 64 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $77,350 and the top tenth $167,090, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $81,325 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $91,556 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($77,350 to $167,090) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $81,325 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $91,556 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.