Electrical estimator salary: what the 2025 BLS data says
The median electrical estimator salary was $92,900 a year ($44.67 an hour) in May 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for cost estimators who work at electrical contractors. The middle half earned between $74,390 and $110,610, and the top 10% earned more than $134,110. That is about 18% above the $78,740 median for all cost estimators.123
mean (average) annual wage in the same group. The mean sits above the median because the top earners pull it up.4
Where the numbers come from
The government does not publish a separate category called "electrical estimator." The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts every estimator under one occupation, Cost Estimators (SOC 13-1051), and then breaks it down by the industry that employs them. The closest match to an electrical estimator is a cost estimator who works for an electrical contractor, which is industry code NAICS 238210 (electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors). That is the group used for the headline numbers on this page.13
The source is the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Its May 2025 estimates were released on May 15, 2026, and are the latest available as of November 3, 2026. OEWS reports wages for employees on a payroll. It leaves out owners and self-employed freelancers, so it says nothing directly about what a one-person estimating service earns. It also mixes residential, commercial and industrial shops into one industry figure.6
Electrical estimator salary by percentile
Percentiles tell you more than an average. The 10th percentile is roughly where entry-level and small-shop estimators start; the 90th is where chief estimators and senior people on large commercial and industrial work tend to land. The table compares estimators at electrical contractors with all cost estimators nationally.
| Measure | Electrical contractors, hourly | Electrical contractors, annual | All industries, hourly | All industries, annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $28.35 | $58,970 | $23.33 | $48,530 |
| 25th percentile | $35.76 | $74,390 | $29.40 | $61,150 |
| Median (50th) | $44.67 | $92,900 | $37.86 | $78,740 |
| 75th percentile | $53.18 | $110,610 | $48.97 | $101,850 |
| 90th percentile | $64.48 | $134,110 | $62.90 | $130,820 |
| Mean (average) | $45.65 | $94,950 | $41.06 | $85,390 |
Two things stand out. First, the floor is higher at electrical contractors: the 10th percentile there ($58,970) is about $10,000 above the 10th percentile for all cost estimators. Second, the gap narrows at the top. At the 90th percentile the two groups are only about $3,300 apart, because the highest-paid estimators in other industries (heavy civil, utilities, research and development) earn as much or more.23
For context, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook lists the median for cost estimators at specialty trade contractors (the group that includes electrical, mechanical and other trades) at $80,330, building construction at $84,610 and heavy and civil engineering construction at $99,910.6
Which states and cities pay estimators the most?
BLS publishes state and metro area wages for cost estimators across all industries, not for electrical contractors alone. Use these as a guide to where estimating pay runs high, then adjust for the electrical premium shown above. The relative standard error (RSE) is how precise the estimate is: under 5% is solid, while double digits means the sample in that area is thin.7
Top-paying states (annual mean wage)7
| State | Mean wage | RSE |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $104,770 | 11.6% |
| Alaska | $101,890 | 3.2% |
| Colorado | $95,040 | 1.9% |
| California | $94,780 | 1.3% |
| Washington | $94,250 | 1.8% |
Top-paying metro and nonmetro areas7
| Area | Mean wage | RSE |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area | $109,520 | 8.0% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $109,520 | 1.7% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $108,990 | 2.1% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $108,390 | 14.9% |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $103,940 | 23.5% |
The most reliable high-pay markets in that list are California's Bay Area (San Francisco and San Jose), Colorado and Washington, where the error margins are small. The Massachusetts and Boston figures are high but come with wide error margins (11.6% and 14.9%), so treat them as a range, not a precise number.7
Where the jobs are
High pay and many openings are not the same thing. The states that employ the most cost estimators are California (26,020), Texas (20,760), Florida (13,720), New York (11,980) and Pennsylvania (9,420). The metro areas with the most are New York-Newark-Jersey City (11,610), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (7,600), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (6,200), Houston (5,660) and Chicago (4,610).3
What moves an electrical estimator's pay
BLS does not split pay by these factors, so this section explains the usual drivers rather than putting numbers on them. They line up with where an estimator sits in the percentile table.
Commercial and industrial versus residential
Commercial, industrial and data center bids involve full plan sets, specifications, fixture schedules, switchgear and long feeder runs. The estimator is responsible for numbers that can run into seven or eight figures, and pay reflects that. Residential estimating is usually faster and more templated, and many small residential shops have the owner do the estimating instead of hiring someone for it.
Union and merit shop
Estimators are usually salaried office staff, so the electricians' collective bargaining agreement does not set their pay directly. What changes is the work: a union (NECA and IBEW) shop prices union labor rates and agreements, and a merit shop prices its own crews. Both range from small firms to very large ones, so the size and type of projects you bid matters more than the label. Ask about it in interviews.
Field experience
Many electrical estimators come up from the field as journeyman electricians or foremen. BLS notes that construction estimators without a degree sometimes qualify through extensive construction work experience. Knowing how a job is actually installed lets you catch scope gaps, which is what owners pay senior estimators for.6
Software skills
O*NET lists estimating, takeoff and CAD tools among the software cost estimators use, including ConEst, Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit, Microsoft Excel and Procore. In electrical shops, knowing an estimating database (Trimble Accubid, McCormick, ConEst) and a digital takeoff tool well is close to a requirement for commercial work.9 If the shop you want to join runs Accubid, the guide to Trimble's Accubid courses and their prices shows what it takes to learn it before the interview.
Certification
The American Society of Professional Estimators' Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) credential requires five years of verified estimating experience, a technical paper, a general knowledge exam and a discipline test. ASPE says more projects and agencies are asking for credentialed estimators. It is not required to work as an electrical estimator, but it is a recognized signal of senior-level skill. A Professional Engineer (PE) license matters more for estimators on the engineering side, such as design-build or utility work.1011
Role and bid volume
A chief estimator who sets labor units, reviews other estimators' work and sits in on bid strategy is paid differently from someone doing takeoffs. The more bids an estimator can turn out at a steady hit rate, the more valuable they are to the shop. Chief estimators often own the bid log too, and bid management software is where many of them track invitations, due dates and win rates.
What an estimator hour really costs a contractor
Salary is only part of what an electrical contractor pays. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation survey shows that in the construction industry, wages and salaries were 69.5% of total compensation in June 2026; the rest was paid leave, insurance, retirement and legally required benefits such as payroll taxes and workers' comp.8
$44.67 median hourly wage ÷ 0.695 = about $64 per hour, fully loaded
That loaded rate is what an hour of a median estimator's time costs the business before office space, software or overhead.18 It changes how to think about takeoff time. If a commercial takeoff takes 12 hours of counting and measuring, that is roughly $770 of estimator time on a bid you may not win. Cut the counting to 4 hours and the same estimator can price more bids each week without overtime, or spend the saved time on scope review, vendor quotes and the parts of the estimate that win or lose the job.
This is the reason most contractors look at electrical takeoff software before hiring another estimator. AmpCount, for example, counts devices and fixtures from the legend on a vector PDF set and keeps uncertain marks out of the count until the estimator confirms them; pricing, labor units and conduit routing stay with your estimating system. If you want to run the math for your own shop, the electrical estimate calculator and the guide on how to bid electrical jobs show where estimator hours go.
Freelance electrical estimator pay
There is no government survey of freelance estimator rates. OEWS only covers employees, and we did not find a public, verifiable dataset for independent electrical estimators, so this page does not quote a number. What we can describe is how freelancers and electrical estimating services usually price their work:
- Per project. A flat fee per bid, usually scaled by the number of sheets, the building size or the scope (lighting only, power and lighting, or full electrical with low voltage).
- Per hour. Common for change orders, partial takeoffs and owners who want help on a single bid. A freelancer's hourly rate has to cover their own benefits, software licenses and unbilled time, so it will sit well above an employee's wage. The $64 loaded figure above is a useful floor for comparison.
- Per square foot or per sheet. Some services publish rates tied to project size so contractors can budget before sending a plan set.
- Monthly retainer. A set number of bids or hours per month for contractors who need steady overflow help.
When you compare quotes, ask what is included: counts only, counts and lengths, labor units, material pricing, or a finished bid. The job description guide covers freelance and remote electrical estimator work in more detail.
Job outlook for estimators
BLS projects employment of cost estimators to decline 3% from 2025 to 2035, from 226,400 to 219,500 jobs. Its reason is direct: cost estimation software is improving productivity, so fewer estimators can do the same amount of work. Even so, BLS expects about 17,600 openings a year on average, all from estimators who retire or move to other occupations.6 In electrical work, the most visible part of that productivity gain is the count: tools covered in the guide to what AI takeoff software automates now find symbols that estimators used to click one by one.
For an electrical estimator, that means the people who do well are the ones who use software to handle the repetitive counting and spend their time on judgment: reading specs, catching scope that isn't drawn, checking fixture schedules and setting labor. If you are planning that path, see electrical estimating classes for courses and certifications, and the full list of estimating guides for the scope, labor and pricing side of the job.
Common questions about electrical estimator salary
How much does an electrical estimator make an hour?
The median was $44.67 an hour in May 2025 for cost estimators at electrical contractors. The 25th to 75th percentile range was $35.76 to $53.18.12
What does an entry-level electrical estimator make?
BLS does not publish pay by experience. The 10th percentile at electrical contractors, $58,970 a year, is a reasonable proxy for where junior estimators and estimating assistants start.2
Do electrical estimators make more than other estimators?
At the median, yes: $92,900 at electrical contractors versus $78,740 for all cost estimators and $80,330 at specialty trade contractors as a group. Heavy and civil construction estimators had a higher median, $99,910.236
Is the BLS number for electrical estimators exact?
It is the closest official measure, but it counts every cost estimator employed by an electrical contractor. It excludes owners who estimate their own jobs and self-employed freelancers.
Count the devices, check the numbers
AmpCount reads the legend on a vector PDF set, counts every electrical device and fixture on every sheet, keeps uncertain marks out of the count until you confirm them, and checks fixtures against the schedule. $149 a month or $1,490 a year for a team of up to 3, cancel anytime, full refund within 14 days.
Keep reading
Sources
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Cost Estimators in Electrical Contractors (NAICS 238210), median hourly wage
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Cost Estimators in Electrical Contractors (NAICS 238210), hourly and annual wage percentiles (series OEUN0000000238210131051, data types 06 to 15)
- BLS OEWS Profiles, May 2025, Cost Estimators (13-1051): national wages, percentiles, top industries, states and metro areas by employment
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Cost Estimators in Electrical Contractors (NAICS 238210), mean hourly and annual wage
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Cost Estimators in Electrical Contractors (NAICS 238210), employment
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Cost Estimators
- BLS OEWS Profiles, May 2025, Cost Estimators (13-1051): industries, states and metro areas with the highest annual mean wage
- BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, Table 4 (construction)
- O*NET OnLine, Cost Estimators (13-1051.00): tasks, software, education and job titles
- ASPE, Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) enrollment: fees and requirements
- American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE), Certification (CPE and AEP)
Wage figures are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) estimates for May 2025, the latest release when this page was checked. OEWS does not cover self-employed workers.