How much do master electricians make in 2026?
Master electricians are paid from the BLS electricians series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 47-2111 national median as $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 separate licence tiers, so a master electrician has to be placed inside that band — and as an employee the premium over journeyman scale is often modest, a differential rather than a different pay bracket. The licence's real value is legal: in most jurisdictions only a master can pull permits, act as the qualifying individual for a contractor licence and supervise other electricians' work. That is what allows an electrician to bill customers directly, employ journeymen and earn on labour margin, which is why the electricians in the top decile of this series are usually masters running businesses rather than masters on someone's payroll. Employment is projected to grow 9.5% through 2034 with roughly 81,000 openings a year. → Full master 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.
- Master 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 publishes one electrician wage rather than licence tiers, and as an employee a master electrician's premium over journeyman scale is often a differential rather than a new bracket.
- The licence's value is legal authority: pulling permits, qualifying a contractor licence and supervising others' work, which is what makes billing customers directly possible.
- The top decile of the electricians series is largely masters running businesses, earning on labour margin and materials as well as their own hours.
US Master Electrician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do master 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 master electrician earn at each career stage?
Master-level pay depends on whether the licence is used as a credential or as a business asset. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS electricians distribution (SOC 47-2111).
By State
Which states pay master 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. Master licensing is where state differences bite hardest: required years of journeyman experience, examination content, whether the licence is issued by the state or by each municipality, and what a contractor licence additionally demands in bonding and insurance all vary. Reciprocity at master level is rarer than at journeyman level.
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 master 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 master 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 master electrician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Master 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 master electrician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a master 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
Master Electrician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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