How are Illinois Electrician salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many Electricians does Illinois employ?

BLS OES counts 22,880 Electricians employed in Illinois in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

How wide is the wage spread in Illinois?

P10 to P90 spans $48,770 to $120,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Illinois a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Electricians?

No — Illinois's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Electrician salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Union vs non-union electrician pay in Illinois?

BLS does not split union from non-union pay. In {state}, IBEW-represented electricians typically earn 15-30% above the non-union median once benefits and pension contributions are included. The premium is concentrated in commercial and industrial work; residential is more often non-union.

How long is the electrician apprenticeship in Illinois?

Illinois typically requires 4 years (8,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus classroom hours before the journeyman exam. Apprenticeship pay starts at roughly 40-50% of journeyman scale and steps up annually. Many Illinois apprentices reach full journeyman pay 5-6 years after starting.

Illinois Electrician Salary: BLS $96K Median, Real $98K (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Illinois Electrician median pay at $96,360. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $97,578.
Electrician ranking: #3 on the BLS table, #1 once cost of living is in.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Bottom quartile $67,690, top quartile $108,230. The P90 ($120,120) is roughly 2.5× the P10 ($48,770).

Wage breakdown — Illinois

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$48,770	$49,386
P25 (lower quartile)	$67,690	$68,545
P50 (median)	$96,360	$97,578
P75 (upper quartile)	$108,230	$109,598
P90 (top tier)	$120,120	$121,638
Mean	$89,190	$90,317
Employment	22,880 Electricians in Illinois

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Illinois index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.8
Goods	101.6
Services	80.4
Rents	92.4

Illinois's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Illinois (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Electrician)	$96,360	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,446	12.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,770	4.95% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,372	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$71,772	74.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$72,679	÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Illinois state-tax burden means for Electrician take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $71,772 (74.5% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $72,679.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $62,350 for Electricians with mean pay of $69,630 and total employment of 742,580. Illinois sits at #3 on nominal pay and #1 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Illinois climbs 2 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Illinois Electrician salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many Electricians does Illinois employ?: BLS OES counts 22,880 Electricians employed in Illinois in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
How wide is the wage spread in Illinois?: P10 to P90 spans $48,770 to $120,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Illinois a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Electricians?: No — Illinois's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Electrician salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Union vs non-union electrician pay in Illinois?: BLS does not split union from non-union pay. In {state}, IBEW-represented electricians typically earn 15-30% above the non-union median once benefits and pension contributions are included. The premium is concentrated in commercial and industrial work; residential is more often non-union.
How long is the electrician apprenticeship in Illinois?: Illinois typically requires 4 years (8,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus classroom hours before the journeyman exam. Apprenticeship pay starts at roughly 40-50% of journeyman scale and steps up annually. Many Illinois apprentices reach full journeyman pay 5-6 years after starting.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 47-2111, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Illinois Electrician pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.