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Electrician and electrical contractor statistics 2026
How many electrical contractors there are in the US, what they take in, how many electricians work and what they earn, and how often American homes have wiring problems and electrical projects. Official numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, HUD and BLS, each with its source and year.
Updated October 27, 2026 · NAICS 238210 (Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors) · SOC 47-2111 (Electricians)
Key numbers
- 821,000
jobs as electricians.
- $63,190
median annual pay for electricians.
- 9%
projected job growth for electricians from 2025 to 2035.
- 83,342
electrical contractor locations with paid employees.
- $249.25 billion
revenue of electrical contractors with paid employees.
- 10.4 million
households had a fuse or circuit breaker blow in the last three months.
Electrical contractors in numbers
The Census Bureau counts electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors as one industry. Both the number of locations and the number of employees grew from 2022 to 2023, and most locations are small.
- 83,342
electrical contractor locations with paid employees, up from 81,842 in 2022.
- 1,015,983
people worked at those contractors in mid-March, up from 951,773 a year earlier (+6.7%).
- $77.77 billion
in annual payroll at electrical contractors.
- 48,799
of the 83,342 locations (58.6%) had fewer than 5 employees.
- $249.25 billion
revenue of electrical contractors with paid employees, run by 78,975 firms.
- 84.1%
of their construction work was on privately owned projects, 12.4% on state and locally owned projects and 3.5% on federally owned projects.
- Private84.1%
- State and local12.4%
- Federal3.5%
- $631.3 million
spent by those contractors on advertising and promotional services, 0.25% of their revenue.
- 159,693
electrical contractor businesses without paid employees, with $9.18 billion in receipts.
Electrician jobs and pay
Most electricians work for electrical contractors, and they earn more than the median of all occupations. Most learn the trade in an apprenticeship.
- 821,000
jobs as electricians.
- $63,190
median annual pay ($30.38 per hour). The lowest 10% earned less than $42,640, the highest 10% more than $108,510.
- $50,980
median annual pay of all occupations, for comparison.
- 66%
of electricians work for electrical contractors; 7% are self-employed, 6% work in manufacturing, 3% in government and 2% for employment services.
- Electrical contractors66%
- Self-employed7%
- Manufacturing6%
- Government3%
- Employment services2%
- $76,545
payroll per employee at electrical contractors.
Electrical problems and projects at home
Blown fuses and tripped breakers are common, and some homes still have exposed wiring. Homeowners spend billions on wiring, fuse box and breaker work every two years.
- 10.4 million
of 133.1 million households with wiring had a fuse or circuit breaker blow in the last three months (7.8%).
- 3.7 million
occupied homes have exposed wiring.
- 6.6 million
electrical wiring, fuse box and breaker switch projects by homeowners in the two years before the survey, with $18.31 billion in total spending and $2,907 on average per project.
The home survey numbers are estimates from samples; the Census Bureau publishes a margin of error with each.
Job outlook for electricians
BLS expects electrician jobs to grow much faster than the average for all occupations over the next decade. Most openings come from workers who retire or change jobs.
- 9%
projected growth from 2025 to 2035, from 821,000 to 896,900 jobs (+75,900), much faster than the average for all occupations.
- 72,700
openings for electricians projected each year, on average, over the decade.
How customers find a local business
These numbers come from consumer surveys, not from official statistics. They describe local customers in general, including homeowners looking for an electrician, and are labeled as surveys.
- 97%
of consumers read reviews for local businesses.
- 41%
of consumers “always” read reviews when browsing for businesses.
- 71%
is Google’s share as a review source, down from 83% in 2025.
- 45%
use ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% the year before.
- 47%
won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or more.
- 89%
expect business owners to respond to reviews; 74% only care about reviews written in the last three months.
- 54%
are most likely to visit a business’s website after reading positive reviews.
- 76%
of people who searched on a smartphone for something nearby visited a business within a day, and 28% of those searches led to a purchase.
The Google numbers are from 2016, so read them as a direction, not as today’s share.
How to cite this page
You are welcome to use these numbers in articles, reports and presentations. Please name the original agency, and link to this page as the place you found them.
StrideRank. “Electrician & Electrical Contractor Statistics 2026.” Updated October 27, 2026. https://striderank.com/statistics/electrical-industry<a href="https://striderank.com/statistics/electrical-industry">Electrician and electrical contractor statistics 2026</a> (StrideRank)Click a box to select it, then copy.
Sources and method
All sources accessed October 27, 2026. Each number above links to its source by number.
How we built this page
- Only official or primary sources: federal agencies and the original publisher of a survey.
- Numbers StrideRank worked out from a source, such as shares, changes and pay per employee, are labeled “StrideRank calculation”.
- Survey results are labeled as surveys, with the publisher and year.
Left out on purpose
- Market-size figures from paid research firms and trade groups, because their methods cannot be checked.
- Counts of licensed electricians by state, because each state publishes them differently.
- Official data
U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOccupational Outlook Handbook: Electricians
SOC 47-2111. Pay data from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025; projections 2025–35.
bls.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census BureauCounty Business Patterns 2023 (U.S. file, establishments with paid employees)
Employment as of mid-March; establishments with paid employees only.
census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census Bureau2022 Economic Census, Construction: Selected Statistics for the U.S. (EC2223BASIC)
Revenue, firms and purchased advertising for employer establishments. Table also on data.census.gov as ECNBASIC2022.EC2223BASIC.
www2.census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census Bureau / HUD2023 American Housing Survey, Table C-05-AO: Housing Quality—All Occupied Units (national)
Table Creator estimates as listed in the Census Bureau’s 2023 AHS table specifications file (sheet “Housing Quality”). Survey estimates with a 90% margin of error.
www2.census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census BureauCounty Business Patterns 2022 (U.S. file)
www2.census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census BureauNonemployer Statistics 2023 (businesses without paid employees)
census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Official data
U.S. Census Bureau / HUD2023 American Housing Survey, Table C-16-OO: Home Improvement Costs—Owner-Occupied Units (national)
Table Creator estimates as listed in the table specifications file (sheet “Home Improvement Costs”). Projects in the two years before the interview, done by the owner or hired out.
www2.census.gov(opens in a new tab) - Survey
BrightLocalLocal Consumer Review Survey 2026 (published February 11, 2026)
Industry survey: representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey.
brightlocal.com(opens in a new tab) - Survey
Google / Think with GoogleHow Mobile Search Connects Consumers to Stores (Purchased Digital Diary, May 2016)
Survey of 1,000 smartphone users, of them 634 local searchers. Older data, dated 2016.
thinkwithgoogle.com(opens in a new tab)
Common questions
How many electrical contractors are there in the US?
In 2023 there were 83,342 electrical contractor locations with paid employees (County Business Patterns, NAICS 238210), plus 159,693 businesses without employees. 58.6% of the locations with employees had fewer than 5 employees.
How big is the electrical contracting industry?
Electrical contractors with paid employees had $249.25 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the 2022 Economic Census. They employed 1,015,983 people in 2023.
How much do electricians make?
The median annual pay for electricians was $63,190 in May 2025, or $30.38 per hour, according to BLS, compared with $50,980 for all occupations.
Is there a demand for electricians?
BLS projects electrician jobs to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 72,700 openings a year.
Can I use these statistics?
Yes. Every number links to its original source, so you can check it and cite the agency directly. If this page helped you, a link back to it as the place you found the numbers is appreciated.
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