Journeyman Electrician Pay in Virginia

ElectricianDB tracks 13 active journeyman electricians openings in Virginia, 6 with disclosed pay. Median hourly pay is $35.44, with the middle 50% earning $27.98–$50.73.

Compared to the national median of $38/hr, Virginia pays 6.74% below average.

The Virginia electrician labor market

Virginia is the most important electrician labor market in the United States, anchored by Loudoun County's Data Center Alley — the largest data center cluster on earth, with industry analysts attributing an estimated 25-35% of global data center capacity to Northern Virginia alone. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Oracle all operate massive campuses along the Route 28 and Loudoun Parkway corridors, and each new hyperscale build creates years of demand for journeyman wiremen, foremen, low-voltage technicians, and critical-facilities specialists. Dominion Energy's grid serves this load with some of the most aggressive substation and transmission construction in the country, adding utility-side electrician work on top of the private-sector boom. Beyond Ashburn, the market has real depth: the Hampton Roads shipyards and Navy installations sustain a large marine-electrical workforce, Richmond's manufacturing and commercial base keeps service electricians busy, and the Dulles corridor's ongoing commercial buildout adds steady commercial work. Union density is meaningful — IBEW Local 26 (Washington DC/Northern Virginia) and Local 80 (Norfolk) anchor the organized side, and prevailing-wage coverage on the region's heavy flow of federal and state-funded work lifts the floor for everyone. Virginia is a right-to-work state, so open-shop contractors compete aggressively, which keeps posting volumes high and gives traveling electricians unusual leverage: per-diem packages for Data Center Alley assignments routinely lead the nation. Workforce pressure is the binding constraint — apprenticeship pipelines through the JATCs cannot keep pace with announced capacity, so wages for cleared, experienced, and foreman-tier electricians have outrun the state median for three consecutive years. For an electrician willing to travel, Northern Virginia is the single highest-opportunity market in the country; for locals, it offers a rare combination of scale, rate growth, and career runway from apprentice through general foreman.

Government data (BLS)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Virginia Electricians wages (May 2025 OES): median $30.24, 75th percentile $37.59, 90th percentile $50.83.

Source: BLS OES Virginia (May 2025 OES)

Our postings median ($30/hr) runs 1% below the BLS statewide median — posted openings skew toward lower-paying roles than the survey average.

Union data (IBEW)

Pay comparison

Why the columns differ: our percentiles come from 6 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 3 in-state locals), not survey percentiles. How we calculate pay →

Highest-paying journeyman electricians openings in Virginia

• High Voltage Electrician — Amentum (Lorton) · $70.34–$70.34/hr
• Cleared Electrician — ANISTAR Technologies (Tysons) · $36.06–$45.67/hr
• Hiring Marine Electricians Now — CTR (Norfolk) · $30–$30/hr
• PMQS IS HIRING DECK ELECTRICIANS – UP TO $27.31/HR + $120/DAY PER DIEM – NEWPORT NEWS, VA — Project Management Quality Services (Newport News) · $27.31–$27.31/hr
• PMQs Is Hiring Deck Electricians for the Newport News, VA Shipyard! — Project Management Quality Services (Newport News) · $27.31–$27.31/hr

Active projects driving demand

• Data Center Alley hyperscale expansion (Loudoun/Prince William) (data center)
• Dominion Energy transmission and substation buildout (utility)
• Hampton Roads shipyard and naval facilities sustainment (industrial)

IBEW locals in Virginia

Sample postings

Pay above is sourced from active postings including:

• Project Management Quality Services – PMQS IS HIRING DECK ELECTRICIANS – UP TO $27.31/HR + $120/DAY PER DIEM – NEWPORT NEWS, VA – $27.31/hr (Newport News, VA) View posting →
• ANISTAR Technologies – Cleared Electrician – $36.06 – $45.67/hr (Tysons, VA) View posting →
• Amentum – High Voltage Electrician – $70.34/hr (Lorton, VA) View posting →

Frequently asked questions

More on Virginia

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