Pay data / Electricians

Electrician Pay
& Hiring

Install, maintain, and repair electrical systems in homes, businesses, and industrial plants. Nationally, electricians earn a median of $61,590 a year, about $30 an hour, with most between $40,500 and $104,180.

Pay by experience

  • Apprentice
    $37,000$18/hr

    Learning on the job under a licensed electrician, usually 4-5 years.

  • Journeyman
    $61,600$30/hr

    Licensed to work independently. The market's center of gravity.

  • Master
    $83,800$40/hr

    Can pull permits, run jobs, and supervise. Where the money is.

What moves electrician pay

  • ·License level. Master electricians earn well above journeymen, who earn well above apprentices.
  • ·Specialty. Industrial, high-voltage, and controls work pays a premium over residential.
  • ·Overtime and prevailing-wage jobs. Public and commercial projects often carry set wage floors.
  • ·Union membership. IBEW markets set scale that private shops usually track.

Electricians are licensed at the state or local level, typically moving Apprentice, Journeyman, then Master. A licensed person is legally required to pull permits and sign off on work.

Electrician pay by state