Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Electrician vs Construction Manager
Electricians earn a national median of $70,935 versus $114,957 for Construction Managers, a gap of $44,022 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Electricians have posted +11% 5-year wage growth versus +5% for Construction Managers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Construction Managers out-earn Electricians on national median by $44,022 — $114,957 versus $70,935, or about 62% more. That gap reflects differences in apprenticeship length, certification requirements, industry concentration, and union footprint between the two trades.
Electricians have grown faster — +11% over five years versus +5% for Construction Managers. Sustained growth gaps of this size can compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career, so workers comparing the two trades should weigh growth alongside the headline median.
Construction Managers typically complete a 0-year apprenticeship while Electricians require 4 years. The longer pathway usually translates into higher journeyman pay and stronger licensure protection, but it also delays full earnings; the shorter pathway delivers faster income at typically lower medians.
Electrician
Electrical · 4yr apprenticeship
Construction Manager
Management · 0yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Electrician | Construction Manager | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR | $102,070 | $136,970 | -$34,900 |
| Seattle, WA | $101,600 | $138,970 | -$37,370 |
| Chicago, IL | $99,540 | $118,830 | -$19,290 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $95,090 | $120,250 | -$25,160 |
| San Francisco, CA | $93,750 | $160,870 | -$67,120 |
| Boston, MA | $83,450 | $156,590 | -$73,140 |
| Detroit, MI | $80,330 | $108,560 | -$28,230 |
| St. Louis, MO | $79,280 | $104,310 | -$25,030 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $76,820 | $111,300 | -$34,480 |
| New York, NY | $76,450 | $138,000 | -$61,550 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $76,120 | $128,730 | -$52,610 |
| Kansas City, MO | $74,560 | $106,490 | -$31,930 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $74,040 | $123,460 | -$49,420 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $64,950 | $103,420 | -$38,470 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $64,120 | $102,720 | -$38,600 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $63,890 | $102,330 | -$38,440 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $63,430 | $102,230 | -$38,800 |
| Columbus, OH | $63,160 | $101,380 | -$38,220 |
| Denver, CO | $63,010 | $124,850 | -$61,840 |
| Nashville, TN | $61,130 | $106,050 | -$44,920 |
| New Orleans, LA | $60,840 | $108,100 | -$47,260 |
| Atlanta, GA | $60,400 | $104,280 | -$43,880 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $59,940 | $111,550 | -$51,610 |
| Houston, TX | $59,180 | $101,850 | -$42,670 |
| Dallas, TX | $57,760 | $100,760 | -$43,000 |
| Miami, FL | $56,080 | $110,810 | -$54,730 |
| Charlotte, NC | $55,790 | $105,580 | -$49,790 |
| Raleigh, NC | $54,820 | $111,660 | -$56,840 |
| Tampa, FL | $53,790 | $100,810 | -$47,020 |
| San Antonio, TX | $52,650 | $97,010 | -$44,360 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Electricians or Construction Managers make more money?
Construction Managers earn more on national median — $114,957 versus $70,935, a gap of $44,022 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
Electricians have posted faster wage growth at +11% versus +5% for Construction Managers. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
Electricians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Construction Managers typically do not require a formal apprenticeship — workers learn on the job over several years. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Electricians have 309,770 workers employed nationally; Construction Managers have 160,280. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both Electrician and Construction Manager are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Electricians earn a national median of $70,935 versus $114,957 for Construction Managers, a gap of $44,022 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Electricians have posted +11% 5-year wage growth versus +5% for Construction Managers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both Electrician and Construction Manager. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Electrician versus Construction Manager, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual Electrician and Construction Manager detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.