Electrician salary UK: what electricians really earn
The typical full-time electrician salary is £39,647. See the official ONS pay range, estimated monthly take-home pay and how it compares with the UK full-time median of £39,039.
How to read the official electrician salary figure
Electrician pay is often quoted in ways that mix salaries, day rates and business income. This page keeps those things separate. The ONS figure covers full-time employee jobs in the Electricians and electrical fitters group. It does not measure a self-employed electrician's turnover, profit or expenses, and it does not include every contractor arrangement.
That makes the figures most useful for comparing a permanent job, a payslip or an employed role. Typical pay sits close to the typical full-time UK pay, but the published range is wide. Experience, specialist work, overtime, travel and the type of employer can move an individual salary well away from the middle. The figures below show the national employee picture without pretending that one number fits the whole trade.
Which electrician jobs this figure fits
The ONS group covers employed electricians and electrical fitters. It is a salary guide for employee jobs, not a comparison with business turnover or a contractor invoice.
Good fit for this page
- Employed installation electricians
- Electrical fitters and maintenance electricians
- Permanent domestic, commercial or industrial electrical roles
Use a different comparison for
- Self-employed turnover before tools, van, insurance and downtime
- Electrical engineers in a different professional occupation group
- An apprentice wage before full qualification
Lower, typical and higher electrician pay
Only £3,066 separates the median from the published 60th percentile. A quick glance cannot show where your own pay sits inside that band or how close you are to the next salary point.
- Lower pay10th percentile£24,538
- Lower-middle pay25th percentile£32,287
- Typical payMedian£39,647
- Higher pay75th percentile£49,138
- Top 10% line90th percentile£57,786
Moving from the median to the published 60th percentile is £3,066 gross a year, or about £184 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Compare your employed salary with the official electrician range, then add take-home pay and the real value of travel, overtime and work costs.
From the median to the published 60th percentile is £3,066 gross a year, worth about £184 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Every published electrician salary point
See every published salary point
| Pay point | Annual salary | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £24,538 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 20th percentile | £29,952 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 25th percentile | £32,287 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 30th percentile | £33,973 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 40th percentile | £36,922 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| Median | £39,647 | The published midpoint |
| 60th percentile | £42,713 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 70th percentile | £46,387 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 75th percentile | £49,138 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 80th percentile | £51,921 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 90th percentile | £57,786 | Above the occupation midpoint |
The paid report estimates a position between two published points. It does not claim an exact ranking of every worker.
What the typical salary may look like after tax
At the typical electrician salary of £39,647, take-home is about £2,672 a month.
The estimate uses the standard Personal Allowance, Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and employee National Insurance. It does not include pension, student loan, salary sacrifice or a different tax code. Scottish Income Tax is different.
What the electrician pay range shows
The lower published point is £24,538, the typical salary is £39,647, and the top 10% line is £57,786.
The gap between lower and higher employee pay is large. That fits a trade where qualifications, industrial work, maintenance duties, call-outs and overtime can differ sharply. Self-employed earnings need a separate comparison because revenue is not the same as personal pay after costs.
What usually changes electrician pay
The median is close to typical full-time UK pay, but the occupation includes very different kinds of work. A domestic installer, an industrial maintenance electrician and a specialist controls technician may share a broad title while carrying different risk and responsibility.
Qualification and sign-off
The ability to complete and certify work independently changes the level of role an employer can offer. Check the required qualification and the work you will be authorised to do.
Work setting
Domestic installation, commercial projects, industrial maintenance and control-panel work have different working patterns and levels of specialist responsibility.
Call-outs, travel and overtime
Emergency work, nights, weekends and travel can lift total earnings. Compare the base salary first, then value the variable additions separately.
Low-carbon specialisms
Solar, electric vehicle charging, smart controls and low-carbon heating systems can widen the work available to an experienced electrician.
Qualifications, day-to-day work and progression
The National Careers Service describes electricians as installing power, lighting and renewable technology, as well as testing and repairing electrical systems and machinery. The job can be based in homes, businesses, construction sites or industrial settings, sometimes in cramped spaces or at height.
Entry normally involves structured training, often through an apprenticeship. An experienced worker without the usual Level 3 route may be able to have existing skills assessed. Some sites and employers also expect proof of qualifications through the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme.
Progression can move towards supervision, project work, specialist maintenance or low-carbon installation. Those changes often matter more to pay than the word electrician on its own, which is why the ONS range is more useful than one advertised average.
What to check in an electrician offer
Keep the employed package separate from contractor or self-employed rates.
- What qualification, grading and sign-off responsibility does the job require?
- Are call-outs, overtime and travel paid separately from the base salary?
- Who pays for the van, fuel, tools, testing equipment, training and certification?
- Does the role include holiday pay, pension and paid downtime between jobs?
Where the salary and industry information comes from
The pay figures are from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14, 2025 provisional edition. They cover full-time employee jobs, and annual figures normally relate to people who have been in the same job for more than one year. They do not cover self-employed people.
| Official job group | Electricians and electrical fitters |
|---|---|
| Quality | ONS rates this estimate precise (CV of 5% or less). The published median CV is 2.7%. In plain English, this is one of the more dependable ONS estimates for the occupation. |
| Jobs in the estimate | About 91,000 employee jobs |
| Career and role source | National Careers Service: Electrician Role scope, working environment, qualifications, low-carbon work and progression. View source |
The page stops at the published 90th percentile. It does not turn that point into a claim about the maximum salary.
View the ONS salary tableCheck the 2026/27 tax and NI figures
Electrician salary questions
What is the typical electrician salary in the UK?
The ONS full-time median for electricians is £39,647. The simple average is £41,190. The median is the better starting point for a typical salary.
Is £39,647 a good salary for an electrician?
It is the official middle salary for full-time electricians. It is 2% higher than the UK full-time median of £39,039.
What do the best-paid electricians earn?
The published 90th percentile is £57,786. That is the line where the top 10% begins, not a cap on pay.
How much is electrician take-home pay at the typical salary?
A standard 2026/27 estimate gives about £2,672 a month after Income Tax and employee National Insurance. Pension, student loan, salary sacrifice and tax-code changes are not included.