PRICING
How Much to Charge as an Electrician (2026 Rates)
What electricians should charge in 2026: hourly rates, service call minimums, markup, panel upgrade pricing and how to quote common jobs.
Pricing electrical work well is the difference between a busy shop and a profitable one. Customers compare your quote against national averages, so you need defensible rates that still cover your overhead. These are the 2026 benchmarks.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Electrician hourly rate 2026
Electricians charge $50-$130 per hour in 2026 (average ~$100; $100-$150 in high-cost markets) with a $100-$200 service call minimum. Panel upgrades run $1,200-$2,800 and full rewires $5-$17 per sq ft.
Hourly rates and minimums
Electricians charge $50-$130 per hour in 2026, averaging about $100 in most markets and $100-$150 in high-cost areas. Most shops pair the hourly rate with a first-hour service call minimum of $100-$200, which protects the time spent diagnosing before any work is approved.
Small service jobs land at $150-$600, panel upgrades at $1,200-$2,800, and full rewires at $5-$17 per sq ft. These ranges are the anchors customers have already seen online, so pricing inside them keeps you competitive without giving away margin.
- Hourly rate: $50-$130 (avg ~$100; high-cost markets $100-$150)
- Service call minimum: $100-$200 for the first hour
- Minor jobs: $150-$600
- Panel upgrade: $1,200-$2,800
- Full rewire: $5-$17 per sq ft
Markup and overhead strategy
Electricians commonly mark up materials 15-30% to cover procurement, storage and warranty risk. Labor should carry its own burden: payroll taxes, insurance, trucks, tools and the owner's profit all live inside the billed rate, not on top of it.
A reliable floor: total your monthly overhead, divide by billable hours, and add that per-hour amount to your base wage before setting the customer rate. If you are not pricing this way, your markup is just guessing.
- Materials markup: 15-30%
- Include payroll burden, insurance, truck and tools in the rate
- Divide monthly overhead by billable hours to find your true cost per hour
Quoting common jobs
Price by the job, not by the hour, once you know your costs. Flat-rate quoting converts your hourly economics into a customer-friendly total and removes the fear of an open clock. Use your labor calculator to build the hours, then apply markup and margin targets consistently.