Journeyman electrician salary, union scale by metro
A union journeyman's pay has two parts: the base hourly wage and the employer-paid fringe (health, pension, annuity, training). Wage sheets print both. Job boards usually quote something in between and call it a salary.
This table shows the base, the fringe and the package for each local, plus the BLS median and 90th percentile for the same metro so you can see where the contract rate sits against the whole market.
| Local | Base | Fringe | Package | Annual base | BLS median | BLS 90th pct | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBEW Local 595 Bay Area | $76.00 | $50.52 | $126.52 | $152,000 | $44.63 | $87.66 | 2025-08-22 |
| IBEW Local 6 San Francisco, CA | $92.50 | $50.52 | $143.02 | $185,000 | 2025-08-22 | ||
| IBEW Local 103 Boston | $66.86 | $45.75 | $112.61 | $133,720 | $38.42 | $62.17 | 2026-03-01 |
| IBEW Local 3 New York City | $64.00 | $65.24 | $129.24 | $128,000 | $37.99 | $63.54 | 2026-07-01 |
| IBEW Local 46 Seattle | $76.95 | $35.01 | $111.96 | $153,900 | $48.93 | $72.74 | 2026-02-02 |
Base versus package
The base is what shows up on the paycheck. The fringe is paid by the contractor into trust funds and is worth real money, but it is not cash you can spend this month, which is why the calculator keeps it out of break-even and lists it separately.
What the switch costs from a desk job
Enter your current salary. The table shows cash wages only, year by year, against staying put. Benefits are listed separately and never enter break-even, and the business-ownership line is a scenario range, so neither can hide the real cash hole.
- Deepest hole
- cumulative cash, by year
- Break-even
- on cash wages against staying put
- Journeyman base
The line items break-even leaves out
| Licensing and exam fees (year 1, counted in break-even) | |
| Benefits against your current coverage (per year; outside break-even); ; | |
| Year | Stay | Switch (cash) | Costs | Difference | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Break-even and the hole ride cash wages plus one-time licensing only. Union rates are prevailing-wage or wage-sheet figures at 2,000 paid hours a year, which is an assumption; actual hours vary. See the methodology page for the per-number audit trail. Methodology.
Questions people ask
- How much does a union journeyman electrician make?
- Base rates under the current agreements: IBEW Local 595 $76.00, IBEW Local 103 $66.86, IBEW Local 3 $64.00, IBEW Local 46 $76.95. Multiply by 2,000 hours for an annual base, and add the fringe for the package.
- Why is the union rate above the BLS median?
- The BLS figure averages every electrician in the metro, union and open-shop, residential and industrial. The union inside-wireman rate is the top of the commercial and industrial market, negotiated in a contract.
- Does the journeyman rate include overtime?
- No. Overtime is paid at time and a half or double time on top of these rates and varies by job and season. The calculator models it as an input rather than assuming it.