Apprentice Electrician Pay in Texas

ElectricianDB tracks 30 active apprentice electricians openings in Texas, 5 with disclosed pay. Median hourly pay is $26.50, with the middle 50% earning $26.50–$31.95.

Compared to the national median of $30/hr, Texas pays 11.67% below average.

The Texas electrician labor market

Texas is the largest electrician labor market in America by sheer headcount, and its center of gravity is shifting fast toward hyperscale and industrial work. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex has become the country's second great data center cluster, with hyperscale campuses rising in Garland, Red Oak, Midlothian, and the Alliance corridor, while Austin–San Antonio adds semiconductor-driven demand from Samsung's Taylor fab and Tesla's Gigafactory buildout. Houston remains the industrial heart — refineries, chemical plants, and a booming port complex sustain generations of industrial electricians, instrumentation techs, and maintenance crews — and ERCOT's grid-scale battery and transmission construction adds a statewide layer of utility work found nowhere else. Unlike Virginia, Texas has no state journeyman license mandate for most electrical work (licensing runs through TDLR with local enforcement varying by city), which lowers barriers to entry and keeps the market fluid: traveling electricians can mobilize quickly, and open-shop contractors dominate hiring. Union presence is concentrated — the key Texas locals are Local 60 (San Antonio), Local 66 (Houston), Local 220 (Dallas), and Local 520 (Austin) — but overall density trails the Northeast and Midwest, so posted wages reflect contractor competition more than scale rates. The state's lack of income tax amplifies take-home pay and makes Texas-based traveling electricians structurally cheaper to deploy, a quiet driver of per-diem demand. Prevailing-wage coverage follows federal dollars (military bases, VA hospitals, infrastructure grants) rather than state policy. Workforce math favors the electrician: state demographers project sustained construction labor shortfalls through the decade, retirements are hollowing out the journeyman ranks, and the apprentice pipeline — while large — leaks workers to higher-paying industrial tickets. For rate chasers, DFW data center work and Gulf Coast industrial maintenance sit at the top of the Texas pay ladder; for stability, the hospital, school, and commercial service sectors in the big four metros rarely slow down.

Government data (BLS)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Texas Electricians wages (May 2025 OES): median $28.16, 75th percentile $34.20, 90th percentile $38.61.

Source: BLS OES Texas (May 2025 OES)

Our postings median ($32.98/hr) runs 17% above the BLS statewide median — posted openings skew toward higher-paying roles than the survey average.

Union data (IBEW)

and 7 more IBEW locals in Texas →

Pay comparison

Why the columns differ: our percentiles come from 5 live postings (median + middle 50%). The BLS column shows the three percentiles our dataset carries (median, 75th, 90th) — BLS publishes more than we import. IBEW figures are journeyman base rates (median across 12 in-state locals), not survey percentiles. How we calculate pay →

Pay by license tier in Texas

Tier medians come from posting classifications, not license verification.

Highest-paying apprentice electricians openings in Texas

• COMMERCIAL ELECTRICIANS – BARSTOW, TX | $32–$65/HR | PER DIEM | OT OPPORTUNITIES — KIBO&CO ELECTRICAL CORP (Barstow) · $32–$65/hr
• Commercial Electricians Needed ASAP ($41/hr + $90 per diem) — Superior Skilled Trades (Austin) · $37–$45/hr
• Commercial Electricians Needed ASAP!! ($41-45/hr + $90 per diem) — Superior Skilled Trades (Austin) · $37–$45/hr
• Electrical Trainee — Power Design · $18–$35/hr
• Electrical Trainee — Power Design · $18–$35/hr

Active projects driving demand

• DFW hyperscale corridor (Garland, Red Oak, Midlothian, Alliance) (data center)
• Samsung Taylor semiconductor fab and supplier ecosystem (industrial)
• Gulf Coast refinery and chemical plant maintenance (industrial)
• ERCOT battery storage and transmission expansion (utility)

IBEW locals in Texas

Sample postings

Pay above is sourced from active postings including:

• Power Design – Electrical Trainee – $22 – $28/hr (TX) View posting →
• Power Design – Electrical Trainee – $18 – $35/hr (TX) View posting →
• Workify Staffing – Texas Apprentice Electrician - No Per Diem – $34/hr (Cedar Creek, TX) View posting →

Frequently asked questions

More on Texas

• View Texas prevailing wage rates →
• Browse Texas electrician jobs →
• How to become an electrician in Texas →
• IBEW locals in Texas →