How much do electricians make in Pennsylvania in 2026?

The median electrician salary in Pennsylvania is $67,600 a year, which works out to $32.50 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number sits in the middle of the pack — half of Pennsylvania electricians earn more, half earn less. If you want the full picture, you need to look at the spread.

At the 25th percentile, electricians in Pennsylvania earn $55,140 a year, or roughly $26.51 an hour. This typically reflects apprentices in the later stages of their training, helpers who have recently become journeymen, or workers in lower-wage rural or small-market areas of the state. It is a starting point, not a ceiling.

At the 75th percentile, pay jumps to $95,500 a year — about $45.91 an hour. Electricians at this level have usually logged several years as a licensed journeyman, picked up a specialty such as industrial controls or high-voltage work, or are working in high-demand metro markets like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh where commercial and industrial projects keep the pipeline full year-round.

Union journeyman rates are the highest tier in this data set. A union journeyman electrician in Pennsylvania earns $108,160 a year, or $52.00 an hour. That figure typically reflects the base wage set through collective bargaining agreements with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and does not include the full value of benefits like pension contributions, health insurance, and annuity funds, which can add meaningful value on top of the hourly rate. When you factor those in, total compensation for union journeymen often exceeds the wage figure by a significant margin.

Several factors drive where a Pennsylvania electrician lands in this range. License level matters first — an apprentice earns less than a journeyman, who earns less than a master. Sector matters almost as much. Industrial electricians working in manufacturing plants or data centers typically out-earn residential wiremen. Commercial work in large urban centers falls somewhere in between, though large-scale projects in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Allentown push wages toward the upper end.

Experience compounds over time in a straightforward way. A journeyman with ten years in the trade, a clean safety record, and the ability to read complex blueprints is a different hire than someone who just passed their journeyman exam. Employers and union halls both reflect that in what they pay.

Geographic variation inside Pennsylvania is real and worth understanding. The Philadelphia metro and its suburbs generate heavy commercial and industrial demand. Pittsburgh's ongoing infrastructure and data center buildout has tightened the skilled labor market there. Central and rural Pennsylvania tend to track closer to the 25th and median percentiles. If you are willing to travel or relocate within the state, that alone can push your annual earnings several thousand dollars higher.

Overtime is another factor the annual figures do not fully capture. Electricians on large commercial or industrial jobs regularly work 50- to 60-hour weeks during busy phases. At a union rate of $52.00 an hour, time-and-a-half overtime pays $78.00 an hour — hours that add up fast on a fast-tracked project schedule.

For electricians considering the next step, the path from the 25th percentile to the 75th is largely a function of licensure, specialization, and geography. Getting your journeyman license if you are still an apprentice is step one. Moving from residential to commercial or industrial work usually follows. Pursuing a master electrician license opens doors to supervisory roles, contractor work, and project management positions where pay can climb well above the 75th percentile figures shown here.

All figures on this page come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. They reflect wages paid to electricians in Pennsylvania and do not include self-employed contractors.