How much should I pay an apprentice electrician in Houston?

Median pay on Buildforce electrician jobs in Houston is $18 an hour for entry-level apprentices, $21.50 for mid-level apprentices, and $27 for high-level apprentices. Pay rises at each step as apprentices log hours toward a journeyman license.

Most journeyman jobs on Buildforce in Houston pay $35 to $37 an hour, and some projects pay $43 or more. At $36 an hour, a full-time journeyman earns about $74,900 a year before overtime.

Electricians in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro earn a median of $59,180 a year, or $28.45 an hour, according to BLS 2025 wage data. That figure blends apprentices and journeymen. The lowest-paid 10% earn $38,800 or less, and the top 10% earn $84,470 or more.

The BLS Houston median of $28.45 an hour runs about 1% above the Texas median of $28.16. On Buildforce, Houston apprentices earn less than the Texas-wide median for their level, and mid-level apprentices trail it by about $5.50 an hour.

No. The Buildforce figures leave out prevailing wage jobs, since a public contract sets the wage on those projects. They reflect private electrician jobs in Houston.