How much do journeyman electricians make in 2026?
Journeyman electricians are paid from the BLS electricians series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 47-2111 national median at $63,190 a year ($30.38 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $42,640 and the top 10% at $108,510. BLS does not break out licence tiers, so the journeyman rate has to be located inside that band — and it sits around the middle, because the licence is the profession's standard qualification rather than its top. What the licence changes is structural: you complete the apprenticeship wage schedule, work unsupervised, sign off your own installations within your scope and become employable by any contractor rather than only your programme sponsor. Above the journeyman rate the ladder continues through foreman, controls or high-voltage specialisation, and then the master licence, which adds permit-pulling authority. Employment is projected to grow 9.5% through 2034 with roughly 81,000 openings a year. → Full journeyman electrician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $63,190 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Journeyman Electricians earn a national median $63,190/yr ($30.38/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 47-2111); the P10 to P90 range is $42,640 to $108,510.
- BLS reports one electrician wage rather than licence tiers, so the journeyman rate sits around the middle of the $42,640 to $108,510 range — the licence is the standard qualification, not the ceiling.
- Licensure ends the apprentice percentage schedule and makes you employable by any contractor, which is the biggest single earnings step in the trade.
- Reciprocity between states is partial: many states accept an out-of-state journeyman licence only with matching hours and an examination, so relocating needs checking before it costs you work.
US Journeyman Electrician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do journeyman 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 47-2111; 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 47-2111, 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 a journeyman electrician earn at each career stage?
The electrical trade is a licence ladder, so the stages below follow credential tier and site responsibility. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS electricians distribution (SOC 47-2111).
By State
Which states pay journeyman electricians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national electrician median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Licensure geography is the practical issue for journeymen: hour requirements, examination content and whether licensing is statewide or municipal all differ, and reciprocity agreements are selective. Holding licences in two or three neighbouring states is a common way to keep working when one market slows.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($72,670), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay journeyman electricians the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national electrician median 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 a journeyman 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 journeyman electrician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Journeyman 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 journeyman electrician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a journeyman 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
Journeyman Electrician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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