A first-year electrician apprentice typically earns between $16 and $22 per hour, depending on location, employer type, and the sector of electrical work. That translates to roughly $33,000 to $46,000 a year before overtime. The range is wide because electrician pay is shaped by several factors from day one, and understanding those factors helps you estimate what you’d actually take home.
How Apprentice Pay Works
Most electricians start as apprentices, and apprentice wages are calculated as a percentage of what a fully licensed journeyman electrician earns in the same area. A first-year apprentice commonly starts at around 40% to 50% of the journeyman rate. As a reference point, IBEW Local 60’s published wage scale for 2025-2026 sets first-period apprentices at 51% of the journeyman rate, which comes to $19.10 per hour.
Your pay increases automatically as you progress through the apprenticeship, which typically lasts four to five years. Most programs divide the apprenticeship into periods (often eight or ten), and each period comes with a bump. By the time you’re in your final year, you’re earning 80% to 90% of journeyman wages. This built-in raise structure means your income grows steadily even before you get your full license.
Union and Non-Union Pay Differences
Whether you train through a union program (like the IBEW’s Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee) or a non-union program (often called a merit shop, such as those run by Independent Electrical Contractors) affects how your pay is set and how it grows.
Union apprentices work under a collective bargaining agreement that publishes exact wage tiers for each period of the apprenticeship. The rate is the rate, and it comes with specified rules for overtime pay, travel pay, and shift differentials. Union programs also typically include employer contributions to health insurance and retirement plans on top of the hourly wage, which adds meaningful value to your total compensation even if the base number looks similar to non-union pay.
Non-union apprentices negotiate pay individually with their employer. Starting wages can be comparable, but raises are tied to demonstrated skills and added responsibilities rather than fixed time intervals. If you pick up higher-level tasks quickly, like overseeing a crew or handling quality assurance, you may advance faster. The tradeoff is less predictability: your raise depends on your employer’s assessment and willingness to pay, not a published schedule.
How the Type of Work Affects Pay
Electricians generally work in one of three sectors: residential, commercial, or industrial. Even at the entry level, the sector you train in influences your earning potential.
Residential electricians wire homes, install panels, and handle service upgrades. This is often the most accessible entry point, but it also tends to pay the least because the work is less complex and the tools and safety requirements are simpler.
Commercial electricians work on offices, retail spaces, hospitals, and similar buildings. The average hourly rate for commercial electricians is around $44 per hour at the journeyman level. Industrial electricians, who maintain and install systems in factories, power plants, and manufacturing facilities, earn a median of about $46 per hour. Industrial work commands a premium because it involves more specialized equipment, higher safety risks, and often requires understanding programmable logic controllers and other automation systems.
As an apprentice, you won’t earn those journeyman-level figures right away, but starting in a commercial or industrial program means your percentage-based apprentice pay is calculated against a higher base. A first-year apprentice earning 50% of a $46-per-hour industrial journeyman rate starts at $23 per hour, while 50% of a $38-per-hour residential journeyman rate starts at $19.
Where You Work Matters
Geography creates some of the biggest swings in electrician pay. The highest-paying areas for electricians overall include states like Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and Hawaii, where experienced electricians earn average salaries in the high $80,000s to low $90,000s. Entry-level pay in these areas is proportionally higher as well.
Cost of living explains much of this gap. A $22-per-hour apprentice wage in a high-cost metro area may not stretch as far as an $18-per-hour wage in a lower-cost region. When evaluating offers, compare the wage to local rent and transportation costs rather than just looking at the number in isolation. States with strong union presence also tend to have higher apprentice wages because collective bargaining pushes base rates up across the market.
What You’ll Spend to Get Started
One cost that catches new apprentices off guard is tools. Most programs require you to supply your own basic hand tools. Simple items like screwdrivers, pliers, and wire strippers run $10 to $60 each, while more advanced tools like multimeters and power drills range from $30 to over $100. A starter kit typically costs a few hundred dollars, though your collection will grow into the low thousands over the course of your apprenticeship as you take on more complex work.
Some employers provide specialty tools or reimburse purchases. Union programs sometimes negotiate tool allowances as part of the labor agreement. It’s worth asking about this before you start, because those savings add up over four or five years of training.
What Comes After the Apprenticeship
The starting salary is just the beginning of the pay curve. Once you complete your apprenticeship and pass the journeyman licensing exam, your pay jumps significantly. Journeyman electricians earn a national median in the mid-$60,000s, with experienced workers in high-demand specialties or locations clearing $80,000 to $90,000 or more. Electricians who go on to earn a master electrician license or start their own contracting business can earn well above six figures.
The apprenticeship years are an investment. You’re earning less than a fully licensed electrician, but you’re also being paid to learn a skilled trade with no college tuition. When you factor in the zero student debt, the built-in raises every six to twelve months, and the strong demand for licensed electricians, the starting salary is the lowest you’ll ever earn in the field.