Trade hub · BLS OEWS May 2025
Electrician
The short answer
Electricians earn a median $63,190 per year nationally, with the middle half between $49,430 and $83,940. Employment is projected to grow +9.5% by 2034, with about 81,000 openings a year. 38 states license electricians statewide, 6 leave it to cities and counties, and 6 license only at the contractor level.
Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems.
National wage distribution. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (SOC 47-2111)
Where the pay is
The gap between states is wide: Oregon pays about 106% more than Arkansas at the median. Cost of living closes part of that gap. In licensed states the credential itself also travels differently across borders, which changes what a move is worth.
| State | Median /yr | Licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $101,310 | Statewide |
| Illinois | $99,560 | City or county |
| Hawaii | $96,460 | Statewide |
| Washington | $95,220 | Statewide |
| Alaska | $89,440 | Statewide |
| ⋯ 40 states ⋯ | ||
| Georgia | $58,320 | Statewide |
| Florida | $57,250 | Contractor level only |
| North Carolina | $56,800 | Statewide |
| Alabama | $55,690 | Statewide |
| Arkansas | $49,070 | Statewide |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · licensing per state boards, verified July 2026
Outlook to 2034
BLS projects employment moving from 818,700 in 2024 to 896,100 in 2034 (+9.5%). Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Annual openings run near 81,000. That figure counts both new positions and replacements for workers leaving the occupation, which is why it exceeds the growth number. The 2024 figure here is larger than the employment count in the summary above because these are two different BLS programs: the summary counts jobs surveyed at employers, while the projections program also counts the self-employed, and this trade has a lot of them.
Licensing
38 states license electricians statewide, 6 leave it to cities and counties, and 6 license only at the contractor level.
Comparing states rather than reading one at a time:
- Journeyman hour requirements in every state, each figure sourced to the board that publishes it
- Which states accept a license from where, taken from each board's own agreement list
Requirements by state
20 of the 49 state pages built for this trade are released so far, each with the board pages its facts came from and the date they were checked. The rest are written and go out in later waves. That includes states where the license is issued by cities rather than the state, and states that regulate only at the contractor level: those pages say so plainly and name the authority that decides, because "no state license" is itself the answer someone is looking for. One state is not in this table: Illinois. Its record carries too little beyond the licensing model itself to make a page worth reading, so the model is shown in the comparison tables instead of being padded into a page.
| State | Journeyman hours | Licensing model |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Alaska | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Arizona | not published | Statewide |
| Arkansas | not published | Statewide |
| California | not published | Statewide |
| Colorado | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Connecticut | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Delaware | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Florida | not published | Contractor level only |
| Georgia | not published | Statewide |
| Hawaii | 10,000 | Statewide |
| Idaho | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Indiana | not published | City or county |
| Iowa | not published | Statewide |
| Kansas | not published | City or county |
| Kentucky | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Louisiana | not published | Contractor level only |
| Maine | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Maryland | not published | Statewide |
| Massachusetts | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Michigan | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Minnesota | not published | Statewide |
| Mississippi | not published | Contractor level only |
| Missouri | not published | City or county |
| Montana | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Nebraska | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Nevada | not published | Statewide |
| New Hampshire | 8,000 | Statewide |
| New Jersey | not published | Statewide |
| New Mexico | 8,000 | Statewide |
| New York | not published | City or county |
| North Carolina | not published | Statewide |
| North Dakota | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Ohio | not published | Contractor level only |
| Oklahoma | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Oregon | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Pennsylvania | not published | City or county |
| Rhode Island | not published | Statewide |
| South Carolina | not published | Contractor level only |
| South Dakota | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
| Texas | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Utah | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Vermont | not published | Statewide |
| Virginia | not published | Statewide |
| Washington | 8,000 | Statewide |
| West Virginia | not published | Statewide |
| Wisconsin | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Wyoming | 8,000 | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Price a credential with the license cost estimator, weigh training paths with the apprenticeship vs. school calculator, or set this trade against others in your state with the salary comparison.
Trades that pay similarly
Plumber at $63,800, Diesel Mechanic at $61,770, HVAC Technician at $61,010, Carpenter at $60,580. Full list on the trades index.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (SOC 47-2111) and Employment Projections 2024–2034.
- O*NET 30.1 occupation description (U.S. Department of Labor).
- State licensing boards, compiled and verified July 2026 — sources listed on each state page.
How figures are computed: methodology