How much do electricians make in Wisconsin in 2026?

The median electrician in Wisconsin earns $76,540 a year, which works out to about $36.80 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of Wisconsin electricians earn more, half earn less. If you're sizing up a job offer or thinking about whether to push for a raise, that number is your baseline.

At the 25th percentile, electricians in Wisconsin bring in $55,820 annually, or roughly $26.84 an hour. This is typically where you'll find workers who are earlier in their careers — apprentices finishing out their training, entry-level journeymen on their first few commercial or residential jobs, or workers in lower-cost rural areas of the state where the labor market pays less. If you're landing at or below this figure with several years of experience, something's off — either the employer, the region, or the specialty.

The 75th percentile sits at $93,780 per year, around $45.09 an hour. Workers here have usually stacked real credentials: a master electrician license, years of commercial or industrial experience, foreman responsibilities, or a specialty like high-voltage work, controls, or industrial maintenance. The jump from median to the 75th percentile is nearly $17,000 a year — that gap is real and worth chasing.

Wisconsin's geography plays into this more than people expect. The Milwaukee metro — including Waukesha and Racine counties — tends to pay closer to or above the state median, driven by dense commercial construction, industrial facilities, and a larger pool of contractors competing for licensed labor. Madison follows a similar pattern, with data centers, healthcare campuses, and state government construction keeping demand steady. Move into the Fox Valley, La Crosse, or the more rural northern counties and pay can slide toward the lower end of the range. That doesn't mean you can't earn well in those areas, but you may need to be the most credentialed person in the room to get there.

Licensing matters here. Wisconsin requires a journeyman electrician license to work unsupervised, and a master electrician license to pull permits and run a shop. Getting your master's opens doors to project lead roles, self-employment, and the kind of pay that pushes past the 75th percentile. The licensing path runs through the state's Department of Safety and Professional Services, and you'll need documented hours and a written exam — plan for it, because it takes time.

Overtime is a real factor in electricians' annual earnings in Wisconsin. Major construction projects — industrial builds, utility work, data center installations — regularly push workers past 40 hours a week. At the median base rate of $36.80 an hour, a single overtime hour earns $55.20. Ten overtime hours a week for six months adds roughly $14,000 to your annual take. The BLS figures used here are straight wage data and don't capture that upside, so workers on active job sites can and do earn significantly more in a heavy year.

Specialty work shifts the pay ceiling. Industrial electricians maintaining automated manufacturing lines, high-voltage linemen, and electricians certified for hazardous locations (Class I/II/III environments) typically command rates above the 75th percentile. If you're a journeyman looking to climb the pay scale, picking up a specialty certification is one of the fastest ways to do it without waiting for a general wage increase.

Some Wisconsin electricians work under collective bargaining agreements. If you're covered by one, your wage rate, overtime rules, and benefit contributions are set in that agreement — check it directly for the numbers that apply to you. Union pay structures vary by local and by agreement cycle, and TradesPays does not have specific union scale data for this trade in Wisconsin.

Benefits vary widely across employers here. Prevailing wage jobs on public projects in Wisconsin carry defined fringe benefit requirements, which can add meaningful value beyond base hourly pay. Always evaluate a total compensation package — health insurance, pension or 401(k) contributions, and paid time off — not just the hourly rate on the offer letter.

All figures on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. BLS data reflects reported wages and does not include overtime pay, bonuses, or the value of non-wage benefits.