Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Electrician Salary in Pittsburgh
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Electrical · COL Index: 92
Electricians in Pittsburgh, PA earn a median annual wage of $63,890 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $40,900 and the 90th at $101,510. After cost of living, that translates to $69,446 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (74/100).
What Electricians Take Home in Pittsburgh
The $60,610 spread between entry-level and top-decile electricians in Pittsburgh is around 95% of the median — a typical range for skilled trades. Workers can roughly double their entry pay through a combination of experience, certifications, union membership, and moving from helper to journeyman to foreman roles.
Pittsburgh's cost-of-living index of 92 sits below the U.S. average, so the $63,890 median wage for electricians here actually translates upward — to roughly $69,446 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Below-average rent, groceries, and services mean wages tend to go further here than nominal numbers suggest.
With a Trade Pay Score of 74 (B), electricians in Pittsburgh land in the strong second tier. Pay, growth, and purchasing power are all solid but one factor — usually wage growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay — keeps the score below the A threshold. For most workers, B-graded combinations are perfectly reasonable career choices.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $40,900 | $44,457 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $49,970 | $54,315 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $63,890 | $69,446 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $89,490 | $97,272 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $101,510 | $110,337 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure here comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — a survey of about 1.2 million employers per release covering more than 800 occupations and every U.S. metropolitan statistical area. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade. Read the full methodology.
Career outlook detail — projected 2032 employment levels for electricians, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Pittsburgh are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Electrician make in Pittsburgh?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median electrician salary in Pittsburgh, PA is $63,890. The 10th percentile is $40,900 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $101,510 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Pittsburgh pay compare for Electricians?
With a Trade Pay Score of 74/100 and a grade of B, the Pittsburgh-Electrician pairing is a strong combination but with one factor (usually growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay) holding it back from an A grade.
What is the apprenticeship path for Electricians in Pittsburgh?
Electricians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($40,900) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Electrician pay in Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh has a cost-of-living index of 92. The median electrician salary of $63,890 translates to $69,446 in U.S.-average purchasing power — an upward adjustment because the metro is less expensive than average.
Where does this salary data come from?
Every wage figure on this page is a real BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median or percentile from the 2024 release at https://www.bls.gov/oes/, which surveys roughly 1.2 million U.S. employers per release. Career outlook context (projected employment growth through 2032) comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Both are public-domain U.S. government data sources.
Electricians in Pittsburgh, PA earn a median annual wage of $63,890 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $40,900 and the 90th at $101,510. After cost of living, that translates to $69,446 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (74/100).
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. skilled-trade wage data dataset. The detail above comes directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. trades, cities, and states.
Every number on this page links back to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. trades, cities, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.