Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Industrial Electrician Salary in Philadelphia
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Electrical · COL Index: 115
Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia, PA earn a median annual wage of $76,060 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $44,030 and the 90th at $103,150. After cost of living, that translates to $66,139 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (71/100).
What Industrial Electricians Take Home in Philadelphia
The $59,120 spread between entry-level and top-decile industrial electricians in Philadelphia is around 78% 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.
With Philadelphia's cost-of-living index of 115, a industrial electrician earning $76,060 here translates to about $66,139 in U.S.-average purchasing power. That is a meaningful but manageable adjustment — the metro's higher pay typically clears the cost-of-living gap with room to spare in skilled trades.
With a Trade Pay Score of 71 (B), industrial electricians in Philadelphia 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) | $44,030 | $38,287 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $58,100 | $50,522 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $76,060 | $66,139 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $90,030 | $78,287 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $103,150 | $89,696 |
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 industrial electricians, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Philadelphia are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Industrial Electrician make in Philadelphia?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median industrial electrician salary in Philadelphia, PA is $76,060. The 10th percentile is $44,030 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $103,150 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Philadelphia pay compare for Industrial Electricians?
With a Trade Pay Score of 71/100 and a grade of B, the Philadelphia-Industrial 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 Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia?
Industrial Electricians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($44,030) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Industrial Electrician pay in Philadelphia?
Philadelphia has a cost-of-living index of 115. The median industrial electrician salary of $76,060 translates to $66,139 in U.S.-average purchasing power — a downward adjustment because the metro is more 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.
Other High-Paying Trades in Philadelphia
$123,460 median · Grade B
$115,770 median · Grade B
$115,770 median · Grade B
$114,870 median · Grade B
$91,690 median · Grade C
$81,140 median · Grade C
Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia, PA earn a median annual wage of $76,060 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $44,030 and the 90th at $103,150. After cost of living, that translates to $66,139 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (71/100).
The Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia, PA record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia, PA sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
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.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for Industrial Electricians in Philadelphia, PA is typically a peer within U.S. trades, cities, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.