Electrician pay guide
Electrician salary UK 2026: pay, day rates and regional ranges
Electrician pay is strong, but it is not one simple number. This guide separates official salary ranges, live-market day rates, apprentice pay, regional differences and the specialisms that move earnings up.
£26k to £45k
National Careers Service range
Government profile range for starter to experienced electricians.
£190 to £380/day
Typical market day-rate guide
Planning range for competent self-employed or contract work. Region and specialism matter.
£8/hour
2026 apprentice legal floor
Applies to apprentices under 19, or 19+ in their first apprenticeship year.
EV, solar, testing
Common pay levers
Specialist proof usually lifts earning power more than time served alone.
2026 headline figures, what to trust first
The safest public benchmark is the National Careers Service electrician profile, which lists electrician pay from £26,000 starter to £45,000 experienced. Treat that as the official baseline, not the full ceiling.
Live adverts and self-employed work can sit higher because the market pays extra for inspection and testing, commercial maintenance, EV charging, solar, industrial fault-finding, call-out cover and people who can work without hand-holding.
A useful planning range for experienced self-employed or contract electricians is roughly £190 to £380 per day before costs, with higher rates possible on London, specialist or urgent work. That is gross day rate. It is not the same as take-home profit.
Electrician salary by experience
Ranges are guidance for 2026. Employer, overtime, region and sector can move them up or down.
| Experience level | Employed salary guide | Day-rate guide | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice electrician | Legal floor from £8/hour in year one | Not normally day-rate work | First-year pay is often lower because training and supervised experience are part of the deal. Better employers can pay above the legal minimum. |
| Newly qualified electrician | £28,000 to £36,000 | £170 to £240/day | Usually building independence across domestic, site or maintenance work. Strong CV evidence matters here. |
| Experienced electrician, 5 years+ | £35,000 to £48,000 | £220 to £330/day | Competent fault-finding, testing support, tidy paperwork and unsupervised delivery push pay up. |
| Approved, specialist or lead electrician | £42,000 to £58,000+ | £280 to £400+/day | Inspection and testing, commercial maintenance, EV charging, solar, industrial or lead-hand work can move above the basic market. |
| Self-employed electrical contractor | Business income varies | £240 to £450+ quoted equivalent | Higher gross upside, but van, tools, certification, insurance, admin, quiet weeks and tax all reduce take-home. |
Regional electrician pay table
These are practical planning ranges from UK Trade Jobs pay modelling and live job-market observation, anchored against official national salary guidance. Always compare current local adverts before making a training or job move.
| Region | Employed salary guide | Self-employed / contract day-rate guide | Market note |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £38,000 to £55,000+ | £260 to £420/day | Highest headline rates, but congestion, parking, insurance, rent and travel can eat into the premium. |
| South East | £34,000 to £50,000 | £230 to £360/day | Strong domestic, commercial and maintenance demand, often without the full London cost pressure. |
| North West | £32,000 to £46,000 | £200 to £320/day | A healthy city-region market around Manchester, Liverpool and surrounding maintenance and construction work. |
| Scotland | £31,000 to £46,000 | £190 to £320/day | Central Belt and specialist industrial or energy work can outperform broad national averages. |
| Northern Ireland | £28,000 to £42,000 | £170 to £290/day | Headline salaries can be lower, but local reputation, cross-border work and lower living costs change the real value. |
| Wales | £30,000 to £44,000 | £180 to £300/day | Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and maintenance-heavy local markets can support stronger rates than rural averages. |
Domestic vs commercial vs industrial electrician pay
Domestic electrician
£30,000 to £45,000 employed
Local reputation, rewires, consumer units, inspection, EV chargers and repeat customers.
Domestic self-employment rewards trust, but quoting, call-backs and admin decide profit.
Commercial electrician
£35,000 to £52,000 employed
Fit-out, maintenance, testing, emergency lighting, fire alarms, data and structured site work.
Travel, early starts, shift work and site pressure are common.
Industrial or maintenance electrician
£38,000 to £58,000+ employed
Fault-finding, controls, shutdowns, production downtime and specialist plant knowledge.
Often needs stronger diagnostics, call-out cover, shift work or experience around bigger systems.
Pay checker
Check the range for your trade, region and experience
Use the UK Trade Jobs pay checker as a guide before you apply, negotiate, price a day rate or pay for training. It is built for planning, not promises.
Do electricians earn more than plumbers or joiners?
Electrician is one of the strongest mainstream trade pay routes, but the better question is which version of the trade you can become good at. Gas engineers, strong plumbers, specialist joiners and site managers can all beat a generic electrician salary.
| Trade | Pay reality | Where upside comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician | £26,000 to £45,000 official profile range, higher with specialism | Testing, EV, solar, commercial and industrial routes create a strong ceiling. |
| Plumber | Often similar once qualified, higher if gas or heating is added | Gas Safe, bathrooms, emergency work and renewables lift earnings. |
| Joiner | Can be strong in site, fit-out, kitchens and bespoke work | Finish quality and speed decide the upper end more than the job title. |
Best next steps if you want better electrician pay
Jobs
Search current electrician jobs
Compare live wording, pay, tickets and locations before choosing your next move.
Entry route
Find electrician apprenticeships
If you are starting out, use apprentice searches and official routes before paying for a course.
Alerts
Get electrician jobs weekly
Save the trade and area so fresh roles come back to you every week.
Frequently asked electrician salary questions
How much do electricians make in the UK?▼
The National Careers Service lists electricians at £26,000 starter to £45,000 experienced. In live job adverts, qualified electricians can sit above or below that depending on region, overtime, sector and specialism.
How much does an electrician make per hour?▼
Hourly pay varies heavily. The useful check is whether the role is apprentice, newly qualified, experienced, specialist, employed or contract. Apprentice pay has a legal minimum, while qualified hourly adverts commonly rise with testing, maintenance, commercial or call-out responsibility.
How much does an electrician make per day?▼
For self-employed or contract planning, many competent electricians use a broad £190 to £380 per day guide, with London, specialist testing, EV, solar, commercial or industrial work often higher. That is gross day rate, not take-home profit.
How much does an electrician make per year?▼
A safe national reference is the official £26,000 to £45,000 starter-to-experienced range. A strong qualified electrician can move beyond that with region, overtime, inspection and testing, commercial maintenance, industrial work or self-employment.
Do electricians earn more than plumbers?▼
Sometimes, but not always. Electricians often have a stronger technical and compliance ceiling, while plumbers who add gas, heating, bathrooms or emergency work can match or beat many electrical roles. Compare the actual route, not just the trade name.
What boosts electrician pay fastest?▼
Reliable unsupervised work, good testing knowledge, clean certification, 18th Edition competence, inspection and testing, commercial maintenance, EV charging, solar, industrial fault-finding and a credible CV all help.
Compare electrician pay with the route into the trade
Useful next reads if you are weighing electrician pay against apprenticeships, training and current vacancies.
Salary index
UK trade salary index
Compare electrician pay against plumbing, gas, site management and other trade routes.
Read guide →Apprentice pay
Apprentice electrician salary guide
Check apprentice wages, year progression and what entry-level electrical pay can lead to.
Read guide →Electrician route
How to become an electrician
The route into electrical work, training, cards and recognised qualification steps.
Read guide →Results alert
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Sources and how to read these figures
Official salary profiles are useful because they are cautious. Live adverts and day-rate guides are useful because they show current market pressure. This page uses both, with caveats, so readers do not mistake a headline for guaranteed income.
- National Careers Service electrician profile
Government careers profile showing electrician starter and experienced salary ranges, routes in, ECS card context and typical hours.
- GOV.UK apprentice pay and conditions
Official guidance confirming apprentices must be paid for work and training time, with pay depending on age and apprenticeship year.
- GOV.UK National Minimum Wage rates
Official 2026 minimum wage table, including the apprentice minimum hourly rate.
- UK Trade Jobs pay checker and live vacancies
UK Trade Jobs planning ranges from live trade-job adverts, pay-checker assumptions and regional job-search patterns. Use as guidance, not a guarantee.