Electrician.
Philadelphia.
$70,000
median salary, 13% above the national average
$55,000 to $92,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating an Electrician offer in Philadelphia, PA, here is the reality: $55,000 to $92,000, with $70,000 as the midpoint. 13% above the national average. License level (journeyman vs. Do not accept the first number. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Electrician in Philadelphia, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $74,590 for Electricians (SOC 47-2111) in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, based on 10,090 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$46,980
25th percentile
$57,900
Median
$74,590
75th percentile
$104,230
90th percentile
$132,610
Workers surveyed
10,090
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Electricians (SOC 47-2111) rather than Electrician specifically. The Philadelphiarange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 47-2111Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $63,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$46,000
to $56,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$60,000
to $74,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$77,000
to $91,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$88,000
to $109,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $14,000 to the total package.
Base
$70,000
Equity
$8,000
Bonus
$5,000
Signing
$1,000
Estimated total: $84,000
How Philadelphia compares.
Philadelphia, PA
$70,000
Cost of living: 9% above average
National Average
$62,000
Philadelphia is $8,000 above
Electrician salary by city.
Salary by role in Philadelphia.
What you should know.
Here is what the Electrician market actually looks like in Philadelphia. Philadelphia combines a robust healthcare and life sciences sector with established finance and higher education institutions. The city's pharmaceutical corridor is among the strongest in the country. Tech growth has accelerated, particularly in health tech and enterprise software, offering salaries that stretch further than in nearby New York. License level (journeyman vs. master), union membership, and specialization are the primary factors. Industrial electricians and those working on high voltage systems earn significantly more than residential wirers. Overtime availability, geographic demand, and experience with renewable energy systems (solar, EV charging) also drive compensation upward.
Apprentice electricians earn $35,000 to $48,000 during their four to five year training. Journeyman electricians earn $55,000 to $80,000. Master electricians command $75,000 to $105,000. Electrical contractors who start their own business or move into project management can earn $100,000 to $150,000+. In Philadelphia, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Union electricians receive substantial benefits including pension contributions, health insurance, annuity, and apprenticeship funds that add 30 to 40% on top of hourly wages. Overtime at 1.5x to 2x the base rate is common. Non union electricians negotiate benefits individually, with more variation in total package value. And on the tax side: pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% state income tax, but Philadelphia adds a 3.75% city wage tax for residents. This combined local burden is worth factoring into salary negotiations. When someone quotes you $70,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Account for the Philadelphia wage tax in your ask. Request a 5 to 8% premium over suburban offers to offset the city's local tax on all earned income. The range for Electricians in Philadelphia runs from $55,000 to $92,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Sales Representative in Philadelphia earns $71,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Philadelphia is CTO at $314,000
Common questions.
Electrician salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Philadelphia.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Electricians in Philadelphia.
Related tools.
Do you work as an electrician in Philadelphia?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools