What to Pay Electricians in Dallas, Texas: 2026 Pay Guide by Level

Key Takeaways

• Median pay on Buildforce electrician jobs in Dallas is $37 an hour for journeymen and $29 for high-level apprentices.
• Mid-level apprentices earned a median of $28 an hour on Buildforce jobs in Dallas, and entry-level apprentices earned $23.
• BLS puts the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington median at $59,010 a year ($28.37 an hour), a figure that blends apprentices and journeymen into one occupation.
• DFW pays slightly more than the Texas median of $58,570 and about 6.6% less than the national median of $63,190.
• Data center work keeps demand high, since Cushman & Wakefield ranks DFW as the world's top data center market.

To pay electricians competitively in Dallas, plan on about $37 an hour for a journeyman, $28 to $29 for mid- and high-level apprentices, and about $23 for an entry-level apprentice. Those are the medians on Buildforce electrician jobs in Dallas. This guide breaks down pay by level, compares it with BLS 2025 wage data on O*NET OnLine, and covers what pushes a rate up or down.

Dallas Electrician Pay Rates by Level

Median pay on Buildforce electrician jobs in Dallas looks like this. The middle half shows where most offers landed, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

A few patterns stand out.

• Journeymen. The median was $37 an hour, or about $77,000 a year at 40 hours a week, and most offers landed between $35 and $40.
• High-level apprentices. Most earned $28 to $30, only a dollar or so above mid-level apprentices.
• Mid-level apprentices. This is the busiest level by far, with a median of $28 and most offers between $26 and $29.
• Entry-level apprentices. Most started between $22 and $26, and a clear raise schedule for first-year apprentice electricians keeps them moving up instead of moving on.

Dallas lines up closely with the rest of the state. Across Texas markets, the median on Buildforce electrician jobs was $40 for journeymen, $28 for high-level apprentices, $27 for mid-level apprentices, and $22 for entry-level apprentices. The Texas electrician pay guide covers other metros.

How Dallas Pay Compares with BLS Data

Government data gives a second view of the market. The table below shows electrician pay (occupation 47-2111) from BLS 2025 wage data on O*NET OnLine.

The BLS median of $28.37 an hour sits well below the $37 journeyman rate, since BLS counts apprentices and journeymen as one occupation. That median lines up with what mid-level apprentices earned on Buildforce jobs, and the top 10% of DFW electricians earn $81,660 or more, or $39.26 an hour, which is close to the journeyman range above. Statewide, the median is $28.16 an hour, and nationally it's $30.38.

What Moves Electrician Pay in Dallas

Level sets the baseline, but a few other factors push an offer up.

• License. A Texas journeyman license takes 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician, per the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Licenses renew every year with 4 hours of continuing education, which electricians can finish in our $5 TDLR-approved CE course.
• Data center work. Cushman & Wakefield ranks DFW as the world's No. 1 data center market, and JLL counts 3,202 megawatts of capacity under construction in the region, per Dallas Innovates. That work leans on electricians with switchgear and power distribution experience, which sits at the core of the work data center electricians do.
• Scope and schedule. Industrial, controls, and night or overtime-heavy work can pay above the median for the same level.

Tips for Setting Pay in Dallas

A good rate only works if it reaches the right people fast.

• Post the rate. A clear hourly range in the job post tells electricians up front whether the job is worth a call.
• Match pay to level. Pay a journeyman like a journeyman, and check the offer against national journeyman electrician pay before you post.
• Grow your own. Local electrician apprenticeship programs in Texas build a pipeline that costs less than hiring every journeyman from the open market.
• Review rates twice a year. Dallas pay moves with data center and commercial demand, so an offer that worked last spring may sit unanswered today.

How Buildforce Helps You Hire in Dallas

Buildforce is a labor marketplace that connects electrical contractors with pre-vetted electricians in Dallas, Fort Worth, and other markets. Contractors pick the electricians they want from worker profiles, instead of being assigned whoever is free, at a lower cost than traditional agency markups. The tradeoffs between a staffing agency and direct hire for electricians come down to how long you need each worker.

Electricians work as W-2 employees through Buildforce, so Buildforce handles payroll taxes and workers' comp. Every electrician goes through a 15-question skills assessment, a 30-minute recruiter interview, a background check, TDLR license verification, and I-9 verification.

More than 250 electrical contractors use the platform. Over 75% of jobs get qualified candidates within 30 minutes, and over 90% of jobs get filled.