Best Electrician Jobs
Five findings from the 2026 report
The paycheck is only part of the picture
Local prices change what a wage can buy. Rent adds another pressure, and a large employment market does not necessarily offer stronger buying power. These are the clearest findings from our analysis of federal wage, price, housing and employment data.
- Illinois’s $47.89 cost-adjusted hourly wage leads all 50 states and Washington, DC.
- California ranks #15 on nominal median wages and #32 after regional prices are applied.
- Florida’s one-bedroom benchmark equals 8.2 eight-hour gross-pay shifts, the highest ratio among states and DC.
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA leads the selected metros at $47.93 in cost-adjusted hourly pay.
- Texas has 76,770 published electrician jobs, the largest state count in the release.
Illinois leads in cost-adjusted electrician pay
Its published median wage is $47.87 an hour. Adjusting for regional prices puts it at $47.89 in national-price-level dollars. The median across the 51 jurisdictions is $33.55; that is a comparison of places, not the wage of a typical U.S. electrician.
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| Place | Cost-adjusted dollars per hour |
|---|---|
| Illinois | $47.89/hr |
| Oregon | $47.13/hr |
| Washington | $42.78/hr |
| Hawaii | $42.18/hr |
| Alaska | $42.01/hr |
| Wyoming | $39.48/hr |
| Wisconsin | $39.11/hr |
| Montana | $38.99/hr |
| Michigan | $38.11/hr |
| Minnesota | $38.11/hr |
Median across the 51 state/DC jurisdictions: $33.55/hr. This is not the national worker median.
California moves from 15th to 32nd after cost adjustment
Mississippi moves in the other direction: from tied 40th on nominal median wages to 25th after adjustment. These comparisons show how regional price levels change the ordering of the same states. They do not show a rise or fall over time.
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| Place | Nominal rank | Adjusted rank |
|---|---|---|
| California | #15 | #32 |
| Mississippi | #40 | #25 |
Florida’s rent benchmark takes 8.2 shifts of gross electrician pay
Wyoming’s benchmark equals 3.1 shifts. The measure divides a renter-household-weighted monthly HUD rent benchmark by the local electrician median hourly wage and eight hours. It helps separate the size of a rent bill from the wages available to meet it.
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| Place | Eight-hour gross-pay shifts per month |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 3.1 shifts |
| Illinois | 3.9 shifts |
| Indiana | 4.2 shifts |
| California | 8.0 shifts |
| Florida | 8.2 shifts |
Portland leads the report’s metro buying-power comparison
Chicago and Seattle follow in this release. State averages can conceal meaningful differences between metro areas, including places that cross state lines. Use the explorer to compare pay with the rent benchmark and published employment in each market.
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| Place | Cost-adjusted dollars per hour |
|---|---|
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $47.93/hr |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $47.50/hr |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $44.03/hr |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $43.45/hr |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | $41.52/hr |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $39.93/hr |
| Akron, OH | $39.83/hr |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $39.64/hr |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $39.30/hr |
| Toledo, OH | $39.28/hr |
Texas has the largest published electrician employment count
California and Florida follow. Employment describes the size of an existing occupational market. The explorer also shows job concentration, which compares electricians’ share of local employment with the national share; that answers a different question from total market size.
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| Place | Published electrician employment |
|---|---|
| Texas | 76,770 |
| California | 73,310 |
| Florida | 49,700 |
| New York | 40,130 |
| Ohio | 28,950 |
| Virginia | 23,630 |
| Michigan | 23,530 |
| Illinois | 23,120 |
| Pennsylvania | 22,730 |
| Georgia | 21,650 |
Use the research in your reporting
Download the numbers, check the calculations, or reproduce a graphic with attribution to Best Electrician Jobs. Every result belongs to the August 1, 2026 data release. The edition combines BLS May 2025 wages, BEA 2024 prices, HUD FY2026 rent benchmarks and ACS 2020–2024 estimates.
Read the state stories
Explore the full report
Make your own comparisons
Search all 50 states and DC or the 100 selected metros. Compare up to four places, filter the charts, and inspect the full data table below.
Explore the core tradeoff
Where does electrician pay go furthest?
Each point pairs cost-adjusted median pay with the eight-hour gross-pay shifts needed to equal a one-bedroom rent. Move left for lower housing pressure and up for greater buying power.
Balanced leader is an intersection, not a score: top-quarter Real Payoff plus bottom-quarter one-bedroom housing pressure, without an above-national 50+ hour work share.
- Median Real Payoff
- $33.55/hr
- Median 1BR benchmark
- $1,340/mo
- Median housing pressure
- 5.1 shifts
- U.S. nominal median wage
- $30.38/hr
Dot area represents published electrician employment. Dashed guides mark the full state/DC medians: 5.1 shifts and $33.55/hr Real Payoff. They stay fixed when filters change.
Source BLS OEWS May 2025, BEA 2024 RPP, HUD FY2026 rent, and Census 2020–2024 renter weights. Read methodology
Build a short list
Compare the tradeoffs side by side
Open any point for a detailed breakdown, then add up to four places here. Ranked place cards still add or remove a comparison directly.
Illinois
- Median wage
- $47.87/hr
- Real Payoff
- $47.89/hr
- 1BR housing
- $1,490/mo · 3.9 shifts
- 2BR housing
- $1,718/mo · 4.5 shifts
- Employment
- 23,120
- Job concentration
- 0.78× national
All shown measures published
Wisconsin
- Median wage
- $36.80/hr
- Real Payoff
- $39.11/hr
- 1BR housing
- $1,129/mo · 3.8 shifts
- 2BR housing
- $1,377/mo · 4.7 shifts
- Employment
- 14,310
- Job concentration
- 1.00× national
All shown measures published
What prices change
A high wage does not always buy more
These are the 15 largest state rank changes after BEA regional prices are applied. Positive bars move up; negative bars move down.
Source BLS OEWS May 2025 median wages and BEA 2024 all-items Regional Price Parities. Read methodology
Housing pressure
How many shifts equal the local monthly rent benchmark?
Every place includes the underlying one- and two-bedroom monthly HUD benchmark as well as the eight-hour gross-pay shifts. For comparison, the full state/DC one-bedroom median is $1,340/mo and 5.1 shifts. These are not live asking rents, calendar days, or after-tax affordability estimates.
Source HUD FY2026 50th-percentile gross rent, BLS OEWS May 2025 wages, and Census renter-household weighting. Read methodology
Labor-market depth
A lot of jobs and a dense trade market are different signals
Employment is the number of electrician jobs. Location quotient compares the electrician share of local employment with the national share.
Dot area represents Real Payoff. The horizontal 1.0× line marks national job concentration; the vertical guide marks the 10,590-job state/DC median. Employment is a published job count, not openings.
Source BLS OEWS May 2025 employment, jobs per 1,000, and location quotient; BEA 2024 RPP. Read methodology
What a week looks like
Hours, commutes, and work arrangement vary by state
ACS worker-level measures add texture the wage tables cannot. They are state-only estimates with 90% margins of error and explicit suppression.
63 state ACS estimates are not shown under the publication rules; 37 meet the smaller-sample review threshold.
Top 15 published values shown. The dashed guide marks the $30.27 all-state median. Muted gray marks a smaller-sample ACS note. “Higher” is descriptive, not always better.
Source U.S. Census Bureau 2020–2024 ACS five-year PUMS; weighted estimates with all 80 replicate weights. Read methodology
Pay spread
The median is only the middle of the story
Each range runs from the published 10th to 90th percentile; the thicker segment is the middle 50%, and the vertical mark is the median. These percentiles do not identify apprentice or journeyworker pay bands.
Showing up to 24 filtered places, plus a searched place when needed, sorted by Real Payoff. The U.S. electrician median is $30.38/hr. Select a row to open the full breakdown.
Source BLS OEWS May 2025 hourly wage percentiles for SOC 47-2111. Read methodology
Audit every row
The full sortable evidence table
The table follows the quick filters above, keeps a searched place visible when needed, and preserves ranks, source measures, and quality treatment. Sort any linked column without changing the underlying release.
| Real rank | P10–P90/hr | Weekly hours | 50+ hours | Commute | Quality | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | $47.87 | $47.89 | $1,490/mo3.9 shifts | $1,718/mo4.5 shifts | 23,120 | 3.79 | 0.78× | $23.67–$59.45 | 41.8 | 13.4% | 35.8 min | All shown measures published | |
| #2 | $48.71 | $47.13 | $1,541/mo4.0 shifts | $1,854/mo4.8 shifts | 10,590 | 5.38 | 1.11× | $28.63–$63.24 | 42.4 | 19.5% | 32.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #3 | $45.78 | $42.78 | $1,871/mo5.1 shifts | $2,235/mo6.1 shifts | 19,380 | 5.46 | 1.12× | $25.08–$64.40 | 41.5 | 13.4% | 37.3 min | All shown measures published | |
| #4 | $46.38 | $42.18 | $2,105/mo5.7 shifts | $2,757/mo7.4 shifts | 3,070 | 4.90 | 1.01× | $21.99–$59.90 | 39.9 | Suppressed | 34.3 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #5 | $43.00 | $42.01 | $1,312/mo3.8 shifts | $1,694/mo4.9 shifts | 1,870 | 5.73 | 1.18× | $28.09–$59.23 | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #6 | $36.59 | $39.48 | $909/mo3.1 shifts | $1,147/mo3.9 shifts | 2,960 | 10.54 | 2.16× | $23.19–$50.00 | 41.8 | Suppressed | 28.3 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #7 | $36.80 | $39.11 | $1,129/mo3.8 shifts | $1,377/mo4.7 shifts | 14,310 | 4.87 | 1.00× | $21.55–$48.93 | 41.9 | 13.3% | 29.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #8 | $36.90 | $38.99 | $1,318/mo4.5 shifts | $1,657/mo5.6 shifts | 2,750 | 5.37 | 1.10× | $23.62–$43.03 | 43.7 | Suppressed | 26.0 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #9 | $36.67 | $38.11 | $1,148/mo3.9 shifts | $1,424/mo4.9 shifts | 23,530 | 5.34 | 1.10× | $20.66–$49.58 | 43.4 | 21.2% | 30.1 min | All shown measures published | |
| #10 | $37.58 | $38.11 | $1,319/mo4.4 shifts | $1,618/mo5.4 shifts | 14,350 | 4.86 | 1.00× | $22.83–$57.13 | 41.4 | 11.7% | 31.6 min | All shown measures published | |
| #11 | $36.24 | $37.34 | $1,401/mo4.8 shifts | $1,781/mo6.1 shifts | 3,780 | 5.89 | 1.21× | $26.05–$55.63 | 40.8 | Suppressed | 32.0 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #12 | $38.18 | $36.10 | $2,189/mo7.2 shifts | $2,672/mo8.7 shifts | 17,810 | 4.89 | 1.01× | $22.59–$61.64 | 40.8 | 11.2% | 35.8 min | All shown measures published | |
| #13 | $37.28 | $35.98 | $1,777/mo6.0 shifts | $2,188/mo7.3 shifts | 7,710 | 4.55 | 0.93× | $22.92–$50.13 | 41.1 | 11.7% | 34.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #14 | $31.59 | $35.51 | $962/mo3.8 shifts | $1,160/mo4.6 shifts | 3,570 | 8.31 | 1.71× | $22.33–$48.57 | 45.8 | Suppressed | 34.3 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #15 | $35.37 | $35.38 | $1,578/mo5.6 shifts | $1,883/mo6.7 shifts | 8,350 | 5.38 | 1.11× | $22.17–$58.27 | 41.4 | 13.6% | 30.4 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #16 | $32.93 | $35.28 | $1,113/mo4.2 shifts | $1,337/mo5.1 shifts | 19,020 | 5.94 | 1.22× | $20.76–$47.75 | 42.3 | 18.3% | 32.9 min | All shown measures published | |
| #17 | $31.66 | $35.15 | $985/mo3.9 shifts | $1,201/mo4.7 shifts | 6,350 | 4.42 | 0.91× | $20.51–$46.55 | 42.3 | 19% | 28.4 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #18 | $37.86 | $35.08 | $2,468/mo8.1 shifts | $2,759/mo9.1 shifts | 40,130 | 4.14 | 0.85× | $21.99–$63.29 | 40.2 | 10.6% | 40.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #19 | $35.62 | $34.83 | $1,548/mo5.4 shifts | $1,917/mo6.7 shifts | 2,420 | 4.83 | 0.99× | $20.67–$49.44 | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #20 | $31.16 | $34.82 | $858/mo3.4 shifts | $1,059/mo4.2 shifts | 4,290 | 6.11 | 1.25× | $20.97–$45.74 | 43.3 | 27.7% | 43.4 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #21 | $31.45 | $34.63 | $1,023/mo4.1 shifts | $1,234/mo4.9 shifts | 12,780 | 4.35 | 0.89× | $21.09–$50.03 | 42.1 | 16.9% | 34.3 min | All shown measures published | |
| #22 | $37.97 | $34.55 | $2,177/mo7.2 shifts | $2,427/mo8.0 shifts | 2,440 | 3.47 | 0.71× | $24.97–$60.48 | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #23 | $37.14 | $34.13 | $2,080/mo7.0 shifts | $2,475/mo8.3 shifts | 13,520 | 3.15 | 0.65× | $23.35–$62.91 | 41.3 | 12% | 38.9 min | All shown measures published | |
| #24 | $35.33 | $33.66 | $1,809/mo6.4 shifts | $2,122/mo7.5 shifts | 13,690 | 4.95 | 1.02× | $22.33–$56.91 | 41.2 | 12.8% | 42.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #25 | $29.26 | $33.65 | $941/mo4.0 shifts | $1,106/mo4.7 shifts | 6,610 | 5.68 | 1.17× | $18.36–$36.80 | 42.4 | 17.3% | 36.8 min | All shown measures published | |
| #26 | $29.59 | $33.55 | $1,011/mo4.3 shifts | $1,207/mo5.1 shifts | 10,550 | 5.45 | 1.12× | $18.63–$39.33 | 44.4 | 23.4% | 32.6 min | All shown measures published | |
| #27 | $31.11 | $33.53 | $1,068/mo4.3 shifts | $1,328/mo5.3 shifts | 28,950 | 5.22 | 1.07× | $19.59–$47.73 | 42.4 | 16.1% | 32.7 min | All shown measures published | |
| #28 | $29.33 | $33.39 | $973/mo4.1 shifts | $1,207/mo5.1 shifts | 8,500 | 4.98 | 1.02× | $18.22–$44.59 | 42.3 | 15.9% | 31.5 min | All shown measures published | |
| #29 | $29.26 | $33.34 | $958/mo4.1 shifts | $1,180/mo5.0 shifts | 10,310 | 6.61 | 1.36× | $19.12–$43.02 | 42.9 | Suppressed | 29.2 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #30 | $29.51 | $33.31 | $929/mo3.9 shifts | $1,150/mo4.9 shifts | 2,980 | 6.51 | 1.34× | $21.31–$38.49 | 43.5 | Suppressed | 17.9 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #31 | $32.50 | $33.31 | $1,341/mo5.2 shifts | $1,624/mo6.2 shifts | 22,730 | 3.75 | 0.77× | $21.92–$58.95 | 41.5 | 13.8% | 34.1 min | All shown measures published | |
| #32 | $36.62 | $33.07 | $2,358/mo8.0 shifts | $2,892/mo9.9 shifts | 73,310 | 4.03 | 0.83× | $22.50–$67.47 | 40.7 | 10.3% | 39.1 min | All shown measures published | |
| #33 | $29.24 | $32.45 | $1,049/mo4.5 shifts | $1,279/mo5.5 shifts | 6,440 | 6.29 | 1.29× | $19.42–$45.21 | 43.3 | 20.1% | 22.7 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #34 | $29.37 | $31.97 | $1,282/mo5.5 shifts | $1,476/mo6.3 shifts | 17,070 | 5.21 | 1.07× | $19.04–$44.31 | 43.0 | 19.8% | 38.8 min | All shown measures published | |
| #35 | $28.71 | $31.84 | $978/mo4.3 shifts | $1,197/mo5.2 shifts | 11,030 | 5.52 | 1.13× | $17.84–$40.99 | 43.4 | 22.1% | 35.2 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #36 | $30.29 | $31.72 | $1,197/mo4.9 shifts | $1,456/mo6.0 shifts | 5,690 | 6.64 | 1.36× | $18.67–$45.90 | 42.1 | Suppressed | 25.9 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #37 | $30.49 | $31.13 | $1,422/mo5.8 shifts | $1,798/mo7.4 shifts | 1,270 | 4.17 | 0.86× | $22.82–$63.50 | Suppressed | Suppressed | Suppressed | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #38 | $30.63 | $30.69 | $1,498/mo6.1 shifts | $1,826/mo7.5 shifts | 2,260 | 4.66 | 0.96× | $18.40–$50.64 | 42.5 | Suppressed | 38.8 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #39 | $28.07 | $30.44 | $1,170/mo5.2 shifts | $1,419/mo6.3 shifts | 5,020 | 5.76 | 1.18× | $17.62–$41.74 | 42.4 | 21.2% | 33.0 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #40 | $29.81 | $30.15 | $1,399/mo5.9 shifts | $1,693/mo7.1 shifts | 11,450 | 6.60 | 1.36× | $19.20–$42.84 | 42.1 | 15.6% | 30.4 min | All shown measures published | |
| #41 | $26.78 | $30.15 | $1,011/mo4.7 shifts | $1,180/mo5.5 shifts | 10,900 | 5.16 | 1.06× | $18.09–$37.61 | 43.4 | 21.9% | 36.6 min | All shown measures published | |
| #42 | $28.24 | $30.12 | $1,300/mo5.8 shifts | $1,467/mo6.5 shifts | 8,010 | 3.47 | 0.71× | $21.31–$37.41 | 41.9 | 16.2% | 34.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #43 | $30.24 | $29.91 | $1,655/mo6.8 shifts | $1,873/mo7.7 shifts | 23,630 | 5.75 | 1.18× | $19.61–$50.83 | 41.8 | 16.4% | 36.0 min | All shown measures published | |
| #44 | $29.36 | $29.16 | $1,565/mo6.7 shifts | $1,858/mo7.9 shifts | 21,140 | 6.53 | 1.34× | $21.89–$43.08 | 42.3 | 19.5% | 32.7 min | All shown measures published | |
| #45 | $28.04 | $29.12 | $1,512/mo6.7 shifts | $1,690/mo7.5 shifts | 21,650 | 4.43 | 0.91× | $17.88–$40.39 | 42.6 | 20% | 38.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #46 | $29.92 | $29.03 | $1,707/mo7.1 shifts | $2,042/mo8.5 shifts | 17,010 | 5.92 | 1.22× | $21.88–$45.27 | 42.0 | 15.3% | 33.6 min | All shown measures published | |
| #47 | $28.16 | $29.01 | $1,414/mo6.3 shifts | $1,683/mo7.5 shifts | 76,770 | 5.46 | 1.12× | $18.23–$38.61 | 43.6 | 24.4% | 35.5 min | All shown measures published | |
| #48 | $30.21 | $29.00 | $1,697/mo7.0 shifts | $2,205/mo9.1 shifts | 3,330 | 4.87 | 1.00× | $20.76–$44.16 | 41.7 | Suppressed | 37.7 min | Some ACS estimates are not shown | |
| #49 | $27.31 | $28.95 | $1,340/mo6.1 shifts | $1,517/mo6.9 shifts | 21,640 | 4.38 | 0.90× | $19.29–$36.09 | 41.7 | 15% | 33.7 min | All shown measures published | |
| #50 | $23.59 | $27.13 | $938/mo5.0 shifts | $1,142/mo6.1 shifts | 7,500 | 5.75 | 1.18× | $16.79–$35.80 | 43.2 | 24.3% | 32.2 min | All shown measures published | |
| #51 | $27.52 | $26.61 | $1,804/mo8.2 shifts | $2,142/mo9.7 shifts | 49,700 | 5.00 | 1.03× | $18.36–$37.10 | 41.4 | 14.2% | 35.4 min | All shown measures published |
Source BLS OEWS, BEA RPP, HUD 50th-percentile rent, and Census ACS. Vintages and construction are documented below. Read methodology
How to read the numbers
Transparent measures, no mystery score
The report publishes each input separately so readers can choose their own tradeoffs. “Balanced leader” is a visible intersection of thresholds, not a weighted composite ranking.
Real Payoff
OEWS median hourly wage ÷ (BEA RPP / 100)
National-price-level dollars per hour. This compares local buying power; it is not take-home pay or a promised wage.
Housing Workdays
HUD monthly gross rent ÷ OEWS median wage ÷ 8
Eight-hour shifts of gross median pay needed to equal one month of rent. The result can look low because it is not calendar workdays or take-home affordability: taxes, benefits, and every non-rent expense remain outside the calculation.
Balanced leaders
States must land in the top Real Payoff quartile, bottom one-bedroom workday quartile, and at or below the national electrician 50+ hour share. Metros use the first two rules.
ACS reliability
State worker characteristics use all 80 PUMS replicate weights. Values are not shown below 100 unweighted records or above 30% relative margin of error; samples of 100–199 are published with a smaller-sample note.
OEWS is the primary wage and employment source and excludes self-employed workers. BLS classifies apprentices and trainees with the electrician occupation, so these figures do not separate apprenticeship stage, journeyworker or master status, license level, union status, or years of experience. Wage percentiles are not career-stage bands. ACS describes worker characteristics over 2020–2024 and includes sampling error. The report does not model taxes, benefits, or overtime premiums.
Review BLS occupational classification guidancePrimary evidence
Government sources and vintages
Every chart is built from frozen processed outputs tied to an exact source manifest and checksum lock. Agency landing pages are linked here for independent review.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for SOC 47-2111: employment, concentration, median wages, and wage percentiles.
Review BLS OEWS tablesU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
2024 all-items Regional Price Parities for states and metropolitan statistical areas, released February 19, 2026.
Review BEA RPP dataU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
FY2026 50th-percentile one- and two-bedroom gross-rent estimates, aggregated with renter-household weights.
Review HUD USER dataU.S. Census Bureau
2020–2024 ACS five-year PUMS for state work characteristics and B25003 renter households for rent aggregation.
Review ACS PUMSSuggested citation
Gordon, Will. Best Electrician Jobs. “The Electrician Payoff Report 2026.” Published August 1, 2026; editorial presentation updated October 23, 2026. https://www.bestelectricianjobs.com/research/electrician-payoff-report/2026