Electrician · Washington · SOC 47-2111
Electrician Salary in Washington (2026)
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- Electricians in Washington earn a BLS median of $96,530, with real take-home of $89,074 after BEA RPP adjustment.
- State ranks #2 nationally on nominal wage, #3 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
- Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
- Quartile range $69,520 (bottom 25%) to $115,970 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $54,800 to $133,310.
Wage breakdown — Washington
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $54,800 | $50,568 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $69,520 | $64,151 |
| P50 (median) | $96,530 | $89,074 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $115,970 | $107,013 |
| P90 (top tier) | $133,310 | $123,014 |
| Mean | $93,840 | $86,592 |
| Employment | 18,380 Electricians in Washington | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Washington index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 108.4 |
| Goods | 106.9 |
| Services | 84.0 |
| Rents | 125.5 |
Washington is a high-cost state — RPP 108.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (125.5) and services (84.0).
After-tax take-home — Washington (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Electrician) | $96,530 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$12,484 | 12.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | $0 | no state income tax (capital gains tax above $262K) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$7,385 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $76,662 | 79.4% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $70,741 | ÷ (108.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Washington state-tax burden means for Electrician take-home
Washington levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,827 a year for a Electrician at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $70,741 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.
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. Washington sits at #2 on nominal pay and #3 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Washington falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Electrician salary in Washington?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 108.4 for Washington), the real-wage equivalent is $89,074 — what the $96,530 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $64,151 to $107,013.
- How are Washington 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 Washington employ?
- BLS OES counts 18,380 Electricians employed in Washington in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- Why is the BEA RPP for Washington different from a single CPI number?
- BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Washington's overall index of 108.4 reflects rents 125.5, services 84.0, and goods 106.9.
- How wide is the wage spread in Washington?
- P10 to P90 spans $54,800 to $133,310. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
- When does this data update?
- BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
- How long is the electrician apprenticeship in Washington?
- Washington 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 Washington 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Washington 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.