How much do apprentice electricians make in 2026?
Apprentice electricians are counted in the BLS helpers—electricians series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 47-3013 national median at $42,670 a year ($20.51 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $33,020 and the top 10% at $58,340. The series covers helpers generally rather than indentured apprentices specifically, so read it as the entry band rather than as an apprentice wage schedule. In a registered apprenticeship the actual pay rule is different and more predictable: you are paid a percentage of the local journeyman rate — commonly starting around 40 to 50% and stepping up every six to twelve months on completed hours and classroom credit — until you top out at the journeyman scale on licensure. That is why apprentice pay varies more by which programme and local area you join than by talent, and why the wage you start on matters far less than the journeyman rate you are stepping toward. Employment in the helpers series is projected to grow 0.2% through 2034 with roughly 6,800 openings a year. → Full apprentice electrician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $42,670 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Apprentice Electricians earn a national median $42,670/yr ($20.51/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-3013); the P10 to P90 range is $33,020 to $58,340.
- BLS reports helpers—electricians rather than indentured apprentices, so the $33,020 to $58,340 band is the entry range for electrical helpers as a group.
- Registered apprenticeships pay a set percentage of the local journeyman rate, stepping up on documented hours and classroom credit, so your progression is scheduled rather than negotiated.
- Because the schedule is a percentage of the journeyman scale, the local journeyman rate — not the starting wage — is the number that determines what the apprenticeship is worth.
US Apprentice Electrician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do apprentice electricians earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 47-3013; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-3013, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an apprentice electrician earn at each career stage?
Apprentice pay is a scheduled percentage of the journeyman rate, so the stages below follow years completed and hours logged. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS helpers—electricians distribution (SOC 47-3013).
By State
Which states pay apprentice electricians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median for the helpers series scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. For apprentices the state rules that matter are the licensing hours you are accumulating and whether the state recognises your programme, because those determine when you can sit the journeyman examination. Prevailing-wage rules on public projects also raise apprentice rates directly on covered work.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($49,070), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay apprentice electricians the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median for the helpers series scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an apprentice electrician’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does apprentice electrician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Apprentice Electricians sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify apprentice electrician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an apprentice electrician actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Apprentice Electrician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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