How much do electricians make in Illinois in 2026?

The median electrician salary in Illinois is $99,560 per year, or about $47.87 per hour, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. That puts Illinois electricians well above the national median, reflecting the state's dense commercial construction activity, industrial base, and strong union presence.

The bottom quarter of Illinois electricians — workers still building hours or in smaller markets — earn $73,520 a year or less, which works out to roughly $35.35 an hour. The top quarter clears $117,460 or more, about $56.47 an hour. That $44,000 spread between the 25th and 75th percentile tells you how much experience, specialization, and geography actually move the needle on a paycheck.

Union journeymen in Illinois earn $110,240 per year, or approximately $53.00 an hour. That number sits well above the statewide median and reflects negotiated wage scales — typically set through IBEW local agreements — that also include health insurance, pension contributions, and annuity funds on top of the base rate. When you factor in the full package, a union journeyman's total compensation routinely exceeds the headline wage. If you're a few years into your career and weighing whether to pursue a union apprenticeship, those numbers are worth sitting with.

Experience is the single biggest driver of where you land in that range. A first- or second-year apprentice starts closer to 40–50% of journeyman scale depending on the local agreement. By the time you've completed a five-year JATC apprenticeship and hold your journeyman card, you're stepping into wages at or above the statewide median from day one.

Geography matters almost as much as experience. The Chicago metro — Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will counties — concentrates the largest volume of commercial, industrial, and infrastructure work in the state. Electricians working in and around Chicago consistently see wages toward the upper end of the range, both because union density is higher and because project scale and complexity command it. Downstate markets in central and southern Illinois tend to track closer to the 25th-percentile figure, though industrial accounts — manufacturing plants, grain processing facilities, refineries — can pull individual wages higher.

Specialization is another lever. Electricians with expertise in industrial controls, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), high-voltage systems, or solar installations tend to command premium rates. A journeyman who can also troubleshoot industrial automation equipment is a different hire than a general commercial wireman, and the pay reflects that difference.

Overtime is a real part of the income picture for most Illinois electricians. Large commercial and industrial projects frequently run extended schedules during critical phases. At the median base rate of $47.87 an hour, a single hour of overtime pays $71.81. Electricians who consistently work 50- or 55-hour weeks can add $15,000–$25,000 to their annual gross without changing their base wage at all.

For workers at or near the 75th percentile — foremen, master electricians, or those in specialized industrial roles — six-figure annual income is the norm rather than the exception. At $117,460, that's $56.47 an hour before any overtime or benefits premium. Master electrician license holders who move into estimating, project management, or electrical contracting can push well beyond that ceiling, but those figures depend on business performance rather than a wage scale.

The bottom line: if you're a licensed journeyman electrician in Illinois, the statewide data points to a median above $99,000 and a union scale above $110,000. The range is wide, and where you sit in it comes down to your license level, your local union's scale, the type of work you do, and how many hours you're willing to put in.