What counts as pay data
Our pay figures use disclosed pay only: postings where the employer stated a range, or where our scrapers extracted one from the posting itself. Estimated ranges (BLS-based, IBEW-based, or flat policy rates) power job cards elsewhere on the site but never enter pay statistics. Postings titled for office roles (project managers, directors) are excluded from craft-trade statistics.
Each qualifying posting contributes its hourly midpoint. Annual salaries convert at 2,080 hours per year. Pages show hourly figures as primary.
Percentiles and thresholds
Reported percentiles are median plus the middle 50% (25th and 75th percentiles), computed by linear interpolation over posting midpoints. A trade × state page is published only when at least 5 postings with disclosed pay qualify; thinner combos stay unpublished until coverage grows. Foreman, superintendent, and controls pages apply the same 5-posting floor to their slice — one posting can qualify both its trade page and the journeyman page. Apprentice statistics exclude postings with journey or leadership titles (even when the body mentions apprentices) and generic-titled postings priced above apprentice scale (midpoint over $35/hr), which re-route to the matching trade. Master statistics likewise exclude journey, leadership, and apprentice-titled postings, plus generic-titled postings priced below master scale (midpoint under $65/hr).
Our BLS column shows median, 75th, and 90th percentiles — the three our dataset carries. BLS publishes more percentiles than we currently import, so the absence of a BLS 25th percentile is a dataset gap, not a BLS gap.
Sources we cite
Government data: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (SOC 47-2111, Electricians), state level. Specialties outside that occupation code — lineman, low-voltage, and instrumentation roles — show ElectricianDB data only. Foreman, superintendent, and controls pages compare against the same SOC 47-2111 figures: they are title-defined slices of journeyman-tier postings.
Union data: IBEW local journeyman base rates as compiled by third-party aggregators (linked per local on each page). These are base rates only — fringe and total package figures are not yet in our dataset.
Update frequency
Posting-derived figures refresh as often as hourly. BLS data refreshes annually (OES releases each spring). IBEW rates carry their contract year on every row; older contracts stay labeled rather than silently aging.
Limitations
Disclosed pay skews toward employers and states that publish ranges — our medians describe that pool, not the whole market. Postings without a resolvable state are excluded from state pages. BLS figures are survey estimates for a broad occupation; IBEW figures are negotiated base rates, not take-home pay. None of these sources account for overtime, per diem, or benefits unless stated.