Electrician hourly cost in 2026

Residential electrician hourly rates have moved up meaningfully over the past few years. Here's what 2026 actually looks like.

Typical hourly rates by region

Across US metros in 2026, the published range for a licensed journeyman electrician is $90–$150/hr, clustered around $110–$125/hr. Master electricians bill higher; apprentices bill lower (and are often included in a crew without a separate line).

Region	Journeyman range	Median	Master (+/–)
Northeast (NYC, Boston, DC)	$120–$180	$150	$170–$220
West Coast (SF, LA, Seattle)	$110–$170	$140	$160–$210
Midwest (Chicago, Minneapolis)	$95–$140	$115	$130–$175
South (Houston, Atlanta, Dallas)	$85–$130	$110	$125–$165
Mountain / rural	$75–$125	$100	$110–$150

Specialty work (motor controls, solar, low-voltage communications, commercial) bills higher across the board.

The fees on top of the hourly rate

For a typical residential visit — replace an outlet, hang a light fixture, diagnose a tripped circuit — the hourly rate is only part of the bill.

Service call fee. $75–$150 almost everywhere. Covers truck, insurance, drive. Some shops include 30 minutes of work in the service call; others don't. Ask up front.

Minimum charge. Most residential shops have a two-hour minimum. Even a 10-minute outlet swap gets billed at the minimum. This is normal industry practice.

After-hours. 1.5×–2× weekday rate for evenings/weekends. 2×–3× for overnight/holiday emergencies.

Permit fees. If the work requires a permit — new circuits, service upgrades, panel work — the permit fee is a pass-through. Typically $150–$500 depending on scope and jurisdiction.

Materials markup. 20%–50% over retail on small items (outlets, switches, fixtures). On larger items (panels, breakers, wire runs) markup can be lower by percentage but larger by dollar. Ask for a per-line itemization.

Put together, a "simple" electrical visit of an hour or less typically runs $250–$500 in total — service call plus two-hour minimum plus materials.

Typical job costs

The minimum-visit math means a 10-minute outlet swap and a 45-minute outlet swap cost roughly the same. Bundle jobs to spread the minimum across more work.

• Replace a switch or outlet: $150–$300 (minimum visit dominates).
• Replace a GFCI outlet: $180–$350.
• Install a ceiling fan (existing fan-rated box): $200–$400.
• Install a new light fixture (existing box): $180–$300.
• Troubleshoot a tripped circuit: $250–$500 (diagnostic time varies).
• Install a 240V outlet for an appliance: $400–$800 (requires new wire run).
• Add a dedicated circuit: $500–$1,200 depending on run length.
• Replace an electrical panel (200A): $1,500–$4,500 (permit, utility coordination, labor).
• Whole-house rewiring (not covered in typical hourly work): $8,000–$20,000+.

Panel replacement is a bigger topic covered in the DIY or Hire verdict — it's a multi-hour specialty job, not a routine hourly call.

When to pay more, when to push back

Pay more when: the electrician is licensed and insured (ask to see both), pulls permits when required (ask for the permit number), tells you the price before starting, writes a proper invoice with itemized materials. A $130/hr licensed electrician who does the job right once beats a $85/hr unlicensed handyman whose work you'll pay twice to fix.

Push back when: a non-trivial job is being done without a permit that should require one, service-call fees stack (don't pay two service calls for one visit), material markups exceed 75% over retail, or "diagnostic fees" balloon beyond the standard service call.

Get another quote when: the job estimate is 50%+ over typical ranges for your metro, there's a non-refundable deposit requested upfront for a routine job, or the electrician can't produce a license number when asked.

Bundle jobs for better economics

The single best homeowner move with electricians is bundling. A service call + two-hour minimum is essentially the same cost whether you do one job or three. Before the visit:

• Walk through every room and note any switches that don't work, outlets that spark or feel loose, lights that flicker.
• List every "one-day I'll ask an electrician to..." item you've been putting off.
• Present the list when the electrician arrives. Ask for a priced breakdown of the full list.

You'll often find 3–4 small jobs fit inside the minimum, dramatically lowering the cost-per-item.

What to avoid

"Handyman" electrical. A handyman without an electrical license can legally do some minor work in some states (replacing a light fixture, installing a ceiling fan) but not circuit work, permitted work, or YMYL jobs. Paying a handyman rate for work that needs a licensed electrician means insurance-void territory if anything goes wrong.

Cheap-lead quotes from aggregators. Some lead-gen marketplaces route calls to the cheapest bidder. That's fine for low-stakes jobs but catastrophic for electrical — the cheap bidder is often unlicensed or overbooked.

"We'll pull the permit later." When an electrician promises to pull the permit after starting work, that permit often never happens. Ask for the permit number before work starts, and confirm with your building department.