Electrician Cost per Hour: $50 to $130 + Service Call Fee

National figures. Angi's guide gives $50 to $130 in one section and $50 to $100 in another; This Old House puts most electricians at $40 to $120 an hour.

Do this now: before you call an electrician

Three minutes of prep keeps the first hour, which costs $100 to $200 as a service call, from going to questions.

1. Smoke, flames or a burning smell that is getting stronger? Get everyone out and call 911 from outside. Do not stop to look for the cause. A downed power line belongs to the utility: stay away from it and call them.
2. Write down what is happening: which outlets or lights are dead, whether a breaker tripped, and what was running. See how to tell if a breaker is bad for the one safe reset.
3. List every small job in the house. This Old House says small jobs are billed at a minimum of one to four hours, so one visit for five fixes costs less than five visits.
4. Ask four price questions on the phone: the service call price, whether it includes the first hour, the hourly rate after that, and the minimum.
5. Ask for the license number. BLS says most states require electricians to be licensed. The electrician license by state table links each state's lookup.

Is it an emergency? When after-hours rates are worth paying

After-hours electricians cost $150 to $200 an hour in HomeGuide's figures, and HomeAdvisor says emergency rates run time-and-a-half to double plus a trip charge of $100 or more, so pay them only for a real emergency.

• Worth it tonight: a burning smell, a hot or buzzing panel, sparks at an outlet, or no power to heat, a refrigerator, a sump pump or medical equipment. ESFI says buzzing, sizzling and repeated trips are signs to call right away. See emergency electrician.
• Can wait for business hours: one dead outlet, a light that will not work, a new circuit, a fixture or fan install, or a panel quote. This Old House says after-hours calls add at least $100 to $200.

Electrician hourly rate by license level

A master electrician charges $90 to $120 an hour in This Old House's, Angi's and HomeAdvisor's 2026 figures, and HomeGuide says $90 to $130 or more; apprentices bill $40 to $60 or $40 to $70.

HomeAdvisor and Angi publish the same level ranges.

Location moves the rate as much as license level does. Angi says urban electricians usually charge $100 or more an hour and rural ones around $50, often plus a travel fee, and HomeAdvisor says pros in high-cost cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Denver often charge close to $100 an hour.

How much does an electrician cost for common jobs?

Most small electrical jobs cost $150 to $600 in This Old House's 2026 guide, and HomeGuide puts larger projects at $2,000 to $10,000 or more. Job prices from the two guides:

Installed prices, parts and labor. HomeGuide's breaker figure comes from its 2026 hourly guide.

Electrician rates by city

Electrician rates run from $45 to $95 an hour in Minneapolis (Angi) to $95 to $185 in Los Angeles (ConsumerAffairs). Published city rates:

Angi and ConsumerAffairs measure differently; compare cities within one publisher. City pages have permits, license lookups and local prices.

Why the first hour costs more: service calls and minimums

The first hour costs about $150 on average in Angi's 2026 guide, because most companies bill a $100 to $200 service call that includes it. HomeGuide says some add a separate $40 to $100 trip fee that does not count toward labor, and that most have a one to two hour minimum. Angi and HomeAdvisor put minimums at one to four hours, even for a job under 30 minutes, and HomeAdvisor says a no-show fee is often the first hour of work.

Fixr's typical service call is $176 to $327 per visit, higher than the other guides, so ask exactly what the service call includes before you book.

What electricians earn compared with what they bill

Electricians earned a median of $30.38 an hour ($63,190 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the billed rate in HomeGuide's and HomeAdvisor's guides is $50 to $130. The billed rate is what the company charges you; the BLS figure is what the electrician is paid. BLS says most electricians learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship.

How to keep an electrician bill down

• Book during business hours. Emergency rates run $150 to $200 an hour (HomeGuide).
• Bundle small jobs to use the one to four hour minimum (This Old House) on more than one fix.
• Get the price in writing before work starts, with the permit included where one is needed.
• Compare trades the same way. How much plumbers charge per hour uses the same service call and minimum logic.

More electrical guides are on the electrical repair hub, and every trade's prices are in home repair costs. Calls go to an independent company that serves your area and takes this kind of job. How calls work.

240V outlet installation cost and outlet replacement cost

A 240V outlet installed costs $175 to $300 with a $220 average in Angi's July 2026 data, $200 to $400 at This Old House and $250 to $800 at HomeGuide, while replacing a standard outlet costs $80 to $200 (HomeGuide).

HomeGuide's 240V range runs high because it includes a new circuit from the panel; the Angi and This Old House figures assume a short run.

A 240V outlet far from the panel or on a full panel is really a dedicated circuit job, which HomeGuide prices at $250 to $900, and an EV charger has its own page: EV charger installation. GFCI rules and prices: GFCI outlet installation.

Electrical outlet sparking: what to do and what it costs

Repairing a sparking outlet costs $100 to $350 in Angi's September 2026 outlet repair data, and $120 to $400 when there are burn marks or a smell; the CPSC lists arcs or sparks, sizzling or buzzing and burned odors among the warning signs of a wiring hazard.

1. Unplug whatever is in it if you can do so without touching the outlet face.
2. Shut off that circuit at the breaker if you can reach the panel; do not open the panel cover.
3. Smoke, scorching, a hot wall plate or a smell that continues: get out and call 911, then an emergency electrician. ESFI says warm or discolored wall plates and a burning odor are signs to call right away; it counts about 5,300 receptacle fires a year (CPSC data).
4. A tiny blue spark when plugging in a running appliance is normal contact arcing; repeated sparks, a loose plug or a crackle are not (CPSC).
5. Call the electrician line and say which outlet, whether the breaker tripped, and how old the house is; Angi says a single outlet on outdated wiring can run up to $1,500 to make right.