Can Electricians Make $100K a Year?

Key Takeaways

• The top 10% of electricians earn more than $108,510 a year in base pay, and the national median is $63,190, according to BLS data for May 2025.
• $100,000 a year works out to about $48 an hour on a 40-hour week, which sits between the national 75th percentile ($40.36) and 90th percentile ($52.17).
• In Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Colorado, even the top 10% earn less than $100,000 in base pay. Virginia is the exception at $105,720.
• BLS wage figures leave out overtime pay, so overtime, travel work with per diem and a step up to foreman or master are the realistic ways to close the gap.
• First-line construction supervisors earn a median of $79,920, and the top quarter earn more than $101,460.

Yes, electricians can make $100K a year, but six figures is the top of the range. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median at $63,190 for May 2025, and only the top 10% of electricians earn more than $108,510 in base wages. Getting there usually takes the right market plus overtime, travel or a bigger role on the job.

What Electricians Earn Nationally

The BLS counted 757,220 electricians in May 2025, and their base pay spreads out like this.

A $100,000 salary on a 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year, takes a rate of about $48.08 an hour. That's well above the 75th percentile and a few dollars under the 90th, so a six-figure base rate puts you near the very top of the trade.

Those figures leave something out. BLS wage estimates count straight-time pay only, and the OEWS technical notes say overtime pay, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses are excluded. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says overtime is common in this trade, so plenty of electricians take home more than their percentile suggests.

Where Base Pay Tops $100K

A handful of states and metros pay close to six figures at the median. Ranked by median annual wage for electricians, the top states are Oregon ($101,310), Illinois ($99,560), Hawaii ($96,460), Washington ($95,220) and Alaska ($89,440).

The same BLS ranking puts five metros above $100,000 at the median, led by Kankakee, IL ($105,500), then Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($105,090), Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA ($104,510), Chicago ($102,350) and Seattle ($101,780). Pay that high tends to come with higher rent, so compare what you'd keep after housing before you move for a number.

How Electrician Pay Varies by State

Across Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia, base pay alone rarely reaches $100K. Here's how each state compares in BLS 2025 wage data published on O*NET, sorted by what the top 10% earn (click a state for its full breakdown by metro).

Virginia is the only state on this list where the top 10% clear six figures. Look at the Washington, DC metro, which takes in Northern Virginia, and the median jumps to $75,930 with the top quarter earning more than $103,270.

In Texas, the top 10% start at $80,300, or $38.61 an hour. A Texas electrician who wants $100K is counting on overtime and travel more than base rate, and the same goes for Florida and North Carolina, where the 90th percentile sits under $78,000.

The Overtime Math

Overtime is the most direct lever you control on a W-2 job. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, covered employees earn at least time and one-half their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. At $35 an hour with 10 hours of overtime every week, you'd earn about $100,100 in a year. At the national median of $30.38, you'd need about 56 hours a week, every week, to reach $100,000.

That's a lot of hours, and few jobs offer steady overtime 52 weeks a year. The realistic plan pairs overtime with a higher base rate, a travel job or a bigger role.

Other Routes to Six Figures

These routes work best stacked, and each one pairs well with overtime.

• Travel work and per diem. Traveling electricians often pair overtime with a daily allowance for lodging and meals. The GSA standard federal rate for most of the continental U.S. is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals, for travel from Oct. 1, 2026. Under an accountable plan, IRS Publication 463 says an allowance at or below the federal rate isn't included in box 1 of your W-2, so what you save on the road stays in your pocket.
• Industrial and data center work. BLS lists natural gas distribution ($120,620 average) and petroleum and coal products manufacturing ($106,080 average) among the highest-paying industries for electricians. Data center electricians work on big power and cooling systems, and those builds tend to run long schedules with extra hours.
• A master license. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says journey workers can advance to master electrician after meeting extra requirements. In Colorado, every registered electrical contractor must hold or employ a licensed master as its responsible individual, and that master can be responsible for one company only, according to the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations. That rule gives you bargaining power when you talk master electrician pay with an employer.
• Foreman and supervisor roles. Running crews moves you into a different pay band. First-line supervisors of construction trades earn a median of $79,920, and the top quarter earn more than $101,460, according to BLS 2025 wage data on O*NET. That group covers every trade, not just electrical.
• Contractor ownership. Owning a shop has no ceiling and no floor. BLS wage data leaves out the self-employed, and about 7% of electricians work for themselves according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, so owner income doesn't show up in the percentiles above. In states like Colorado, you'll need a master license or a master on staff first.

Union jobs are a separate market. They pay a negotiated union scale with its own benefits package and raise schedule, so compare them on their own terms and not against the open-shop figures in this article.

Find Better-Paying Electrical Work with Buildforce

Buildforce connects electricians with work from 250+ electrical contractors, in Texas metros like Austin, Dallas and Houston, plus Phoenix, Atlanta, Charlotte, Tampa and other markets. You work as a W-2 employee, so payroll taxes and workers' comp are handled for you, and you choose which jobs to apply for based on your plan for the year. Electricians have logged 3,000,000+ hours on the platform, and the app holds a 4.7 rating.