Average Salary

• During the course of its May 2010 analysis of national employment, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics gathered pay data from over 500,000 individual electricians working throughout the United States. It concluded that the mean annual salary for the occupation was $51,810, which translates into an hourly rate of $24.91. Practitioners among the top 10 percent of earners received wages of over $80,890, while those in the corresponding bottom bracket earned less than $29,400 per year.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• The vast majority of electricians are employed by building equipment contractors, according to the bureau’s analysis. The mean wage within this sector of the industry was $51,550. Individuals working within electric power generation, transmission and distribution earned a mean of $57,990, while those employed within non-residential building construction received pay of $50,070 per year. Electricians also work for local government agencies, which paid an annual mean of $55,480, ship and boat building firms, which had a mean of $42,940, and within coal mining, paying $53,470 per year.
  
  

Salary by Location

• Geographical location is also a factor in determining electricians’ pay. The bureau reports that, across all industry sectors, Alaska is the most lucrative state for the trade, with an annual mean of $69,010. Illinois and Hawaii were also comparatively lucrative locales, with respective annual means of $68,430 and $67,990. Maryland and Wyoming were listed with similar wage rates, at yearly means of $52,890 and $51,090, respectively. Florida had one of the lowest rates, at just $40,320.
  
  

Outlook

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts a 12 percent increase in employment opportunities for electricians over the years from 2008 to 2018. This is at the higher end of estimates for the country as a whole across all professions, which was put at between 7 and 13 percent over the same time. Population growth will result in the construction of residential, commercial and municipal buildings increase, all of which will require wiring. Wage levels for the role should remain competitive, particularly considering that the bureau expects there to be more vacancies than suitable candidates to fill them.