Electrician Hourly Rate (2026): What Electricians Charge and How to Set Yours

Setting your hourly rate too low doesn't just cost you margin on today's job — it anchors every future estimate you build off that number, so it's worth getting deliberately right rather than matching whatever a competitor happens to advertise.

What should electricians charge per hour in 2026?

Licensed electricians generally charge $40 to $100 per hour depending on license level, experience, local market, overhead, and job complexity. A national average for a licensed journeyman runs $85-$110/hr, while master electricians doing specialized or high-complexity work often charge $90-$100+/hr. In high-cost metro markets, licensed contractors can bill $250-$300/hr.

How is a contractor rate different from an employee wage?

What you bill customers as a licensed contractor and what an electrician earns as an employee are two different numbers — wage-level electrician pay runs $30-$60/hr, well below the rates a licensed contractor charges. Confusing the two (pricing your services off a wage survey instead of a contractor-rate survey) is a common reason independent electricians underprice their own work.

Should you charge a separate service-call fee?

Most electricians charge a call-out or service-call fee, typically $100-$200, separate from the hourly rate — it covers travel, dispatch, and initial assessment time regardless of whether the job turns into billable hours. This protects your time on small or diagnostic-only calls that wouldn't otherwise cover your overhead at an hourly rate alone.

What should actually move your rate up or down?

License level, years of experience, local cost of living, overhead (vehicle, insurance, tools), and job complexity should all factor into where you land in the range — not just "what the electrician down the street charges." A rate set purely by undercutting competitors tends to undercut your own margin along with it.

Quote jobs faster at the right rate

Once your hourly rate and service-call fee are set, the harder part is estimating hours accurately from a lead's description before you're on-site. Fast Snap Pro turns a customer's photos and job description into a priced estimate built from your own rate, so you can send a real number fast and confirm scope during the actual visit.

Typical electrician rates

Type	Common billed range
Apprentice (billed through a contractor)	Lower tier, often supervised work
Journeyman electrician	About $50–$110 per hour
Master electrician	About $90–$150 per hour
High-cost metro or emergency rates	Higher, often $150+ per hour
Service call or trip fee	About $100–$200

Ranges vary widely by market. Treat these as a reference, not your price.

Work out your own rate

A contractor rate has to pay for much more than the electrician's wage. Example for a two-electrician shop:

Item	Example
Average wage	$38 per hour
Labor burden (taxes, comp, insurance)	25%, making $47.50 per paid hour
Billable share of paid hours	65%
Labor cost per billable hour	$47.50 ÷ 0.65 = $73
Overhead per billable hour (vans, tools, insurance, office)	$32
Cost per billable hour	$105
Price at 20% margin	$105 ÷ 0.8 = $131 per hour

Illustrative numbers only. Run your own numbers in the contractor hourly rate calculator.

Hourly vs flat rate for electricians

Many residential electricians quote common tasks at flat rates, such as installing an outlet, replacing a panel or adding a circuit, built from their hourly rate and standard task times. Customers prefer a known price, and efficient electricians keep the margin when a job goes quickly. Hourly billing still fits troubleshooting and open-ended work. See electrician price list and flat rate vs time and materials.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an electrician charge per hour?

Many licensed electricians bill roughly $50 to $150 per hour depending on license level, location and job type, often with a service call fee.

Why do electricians charge a service call fee?

It covers travel, setup and diagnosis on small calls that wouldn't otherwise cover the cost of sending a licensed electrician and a stocked van.

Do electricians charge for travel time?

Many include travel in a service call fee or trip charge rather than billing drive time by the hour.