Best US Cities for Electricians
Top US cities for Electricians ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland, CA | $84,200 | 1.35× | +$23,200 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $80,200 | 1.45× | +$19,200 |
| 3 | Long Beach, CA | $76,300 | 1.18× | +$15,300 |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $74,700 | 1.32× | +$13,700 |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $74,600 | 1.22× | +$13,600 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $73,800 | 1.30× | +$12,800 |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $73,800 | 1.30× | +$12,800 |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | $73,700 | 1.20× | +$12,700 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $72,800 | 1.18× | +$11,800 |
| 10 | Anaheim, CA | $72,800 | 1.18× | +$11,800 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland, CA | $84,200 | $40/hr |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $80,200 | $39/hr |
| 3 | Long Beach, CA | $76,300 | $37/hr |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $74,700 | $36/hr |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $74,600 | $36/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $73,800 | $35/hr |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $73,800 | $35/hr |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | $73,700 | $35/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $72,800 | $35/hr |
| 10 | Anaheim, CA | $72,800 | $35/hr |
| 11 | Newark, NJ | $72,500 | $35/hr |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $70,400 | $34/hr |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $70,000 | $34/hr |
| 14 | San Diego, CA | $70,000 | $34/hr |
| 15 | Baltimore, MD | $70,000 | $34/hr |
| 16 | Hialeah, FL | $70,000 | $34/hr |
| 17 | Las Vegas, NV | $69,600 | $33/hr |
| 18 | Yonkers, NY | $69,500 | $33/hr |
| 19 | Portland, OR | $69,200 | $33/hr |
| 20 | Riverside, CA | $69,200 | $33/hr |
| 21 | Tampa, FL | $68,700 | $33/hr |
| 22 | Reno, NV | $68,700 | $33/hr |
| 23 | Scottsdale, AZ | $68,700 | $33/hr |
| 24 | Charleston, SC | $68,700 | $33/hr |
| 25 | Denver, CO | $68,300 | $33/hr |
| 26 | North Las Vegas, NV | $67,700 | $33/hr |
| 27 | Chula Vista, CA | $67,400 | $32/hr |
| 28 | Stockton, CA | $66,900 | $32/hr |
| 29 | Aurora, CO | $66,900 | $32/hr |
| 30 | Frisco, TX | $66,900 | $32/hr |
| 31 | Norfolk, VA | $66,700 | $32/hr |
| 32 | Jacksonville, FL | $66,300 | $32/hr |
| 33 | Charlotte, NC | $66,300 | $32/hr |
| 34 | Miami, FL | $66,100 | $32/hr |
| 35 | Houston, TX | $65,800 | $32/hr |
| 36 | Fort Worth, TX | $65,800 | $32/hr |
| 37 | Glendale, AZ | $65,800 | $32/hr |
| 38 | Garland, TX | $65,800 | $32/hr |
| 39 | Spokane, WA | $65,800 | $32/hr |
| 40 | Atlanta, GA | $65,600 | $32/hr |
| 41 | Henderson, NV | $65,600 | $32/hr |
| 42 | Arlington, TX | $65,400 | $31/hr |
| 43 | Sacramento, CA | $65,300 | $31/hr |
| 44 | Virginia Beach, VA | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 45 | Chesapeake, VA | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 46 | Boise, ID | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 47 | Fresno, CA | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 48 | Dallas, TX | $64,200 | $31/hr |
| 49 | Nashville, TN | $64,200 | $31/hr |
| 50 | Bakersfield, CA | $64,200 | $31/hr |
| 51 | Corpus Christi, TX | $63,900 | $31/hr |
| 52 | Greensboro, NC | $63,900 | $31/hr |
| 53 | El Paso, TX | $63,500 | $31/hr |
| 54 | Mesa, AZ | $63,300 | $30/hr |
| 55 | Austin, TX | $63,100 | $30/hr |
| 56 | Indianapolis, IN | $62,900 | $30/hr |
| 57 | Louisville, KY | $62,900 | $30/hr |
| 58 | Minneapolis, MN | $62,700 | $30/hr |
| 59 | Plano, TX | $62,700 | $30/hr |
| 60 | Chandler, AZ | $62,700 | $30/hr |
| 61 | Phoenix, AZ | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 62 | Philadelphia, PA | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 63 | Milwaukee, WI | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 64 | Albuquerque, NM | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 65 | New Orleans, LA | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 66 | Gilbert, AZ | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 67 | Salt Lake City, UT | $61,900 | $30/hr |
| 68 | Grand Rapids, MI | $61,500 | $30/hr |
| 69 | Orlando, FL | $61,400 | $30/hr |
| 70 | Columbus, OH | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 71 | Detroit, MI | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 72 | Cincinnati, OH | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 73 | Kansas City, MO | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 74 | Lexington, KY | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 75 | Fort Wayne, IN | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 76 | Knoxville, TN | $61,100 | $29/hr |
| 77 | Wilmington, DE | $61,000 | $29/hr |
| 78 | Raleigh, NC | $61,000 | $29/hr |
| 79 | St. Paul, MN | $61,000 | $29/hr |
| 80 | Worcester, MA | $61,000 | $29/hr |
| 81 | Cleveland, OH | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 82 | St. Louis, MO | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 83 | Colorado Springs, CO | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 84 | St. Petersburg, FL | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 85 | Madison, WI | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 86 | Omaha, NE | $60,100 | $29/hr |
| 87 | Memphis, TN | $59,700 | $29/hr |
| 88 | Oklahoma City, OK | $59,700 | $29/hr |
| 89 | Tucson, AZ | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 90 | Birmingham, AL | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 91 | Toledo, OH | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 92 | Lubbock, TX | $59,300 | $29/hr |
| 93 | Pittsburgh, PA | $58,900 | $28/hr |
| 94 | Tallahassee, FL | $58,900 | $28/hr |
| 95 | Wichita, KS | $58,300 | $28/hr |
| 96 | Mobile, AL | $58,300 | $28/hr |
| 97 | San Antonio, TX | $58,000 | $28/hr |
| 98 | Buffalo, NY | $57,600 | $28/hr |
| 99 | Winston-Salem, NC | $57,200 | $28/hr |
| 100 | Lincoln, NE | $56,300 | $27/hr |
Does location actually decide Electrician pay?
Electrician work has to be done on site, so where you live and where you earn are the same question. The 50% spread between Oakland ($84,200) and Lincoln ($56,300) is a spread you can only capture by actually relocating.
One practical constraint: this is a licensed occupation (State journeyman/master electrician license after apprenticeship). Because licenses do not automatically transfer across state lines, the metros on this list are not equally reachable — some will require you to re-qualify before you can work at all.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In Oakland, $84,200 against $2,100/month rent leaves roughly $59,000 a year after housing. In Lincoln, $56,300 against $950 leaves about $44,900. The top still wins after rent, but by $14,100 rather than the $27,900 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland); San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Long Beach (Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center). A Electrician at a large employer in a metro where trades work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.