How much do electricians make in Texas in 2026?

The typical electrician in Texas earns $58,570 a year, or about $28.16 an hour, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. That's the median — half of Texas electricians earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a lower-cost market, expect to land closer to the 25th percentile. If you've got years in and a specialty, the upper end is well within reach.

At the 25th percentile, Texas electricians take home $46,670 a year — roughly $22.44 an hour. This is where you'll often find apprentices finishing their hours, helpers moving into journeyman work, or workers in smaller metro areas where the call volume doesn't push rates as high.

The 75th percentile sits at $71,130 a year, which works out to about $34.20 an hour. Electricians at this level typically have their journeyman license, a solid book of commercial or industrial work behind them, and either a specialty — think data centers, high-voltage, or oil and gas — or they're working in a high-demand area like Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Austin.

Union journeyman electricians in Texas can push past all of those numbers. A union journeyman card with an IBEW local typically brings in around $83,200 a year, or $40.00 an hour straight time. That figure doesn't count overtime, which is common on big commercial and industrial jobs. Union work also comes with health insurance, a pension, and annuity contributions that add real value on top of the base rate.

A few things drive where you land in that range. License level matters — an apprentice earns less than a journeyman, and a master earns more. Sector matters too. Residential work generally pays less than commercial, and commercial pays less than industrial. Location within Texas has a real effect as well. The major metros run higher than rural markets, and energy-sector counties along the Gulf Coast can pull rates above the state median.

Texas does not have a state income tax, which means more of every dollar stays in your pocket compared to electricians doing the same work in states that do. That's worth factoring in when you're comparing offers across state lines.

Hours are another lever. Many Texas electricians, especially those on industrial shutdowns or large construction projects, regularly work 50- to 60-hour weeks. At the median rate of $28.16, a 10-hour overtime day at time-and-a-half adds about $211 to your weekly gross — and that adds up fast over a long project run.

If you're an apprentice, tracking your wage growth against these benchmarks every year is a straight-forward way to know whether your pay is keeping pace with the trade. If you're a journeyman who hasn't moved in a few years, these numbers tell you whether it's time to have a conversation with your foreman or start making calls.