Home › Trades › Electricians › Texas
How to become an electrician in Texas
Texas requires a TDLR-issued license to do electrical work, in three tiers (apprentice, journeyman and master), each valid one year and renewed annually. Electricians in Texas earned a median $58,570 a year in May 2025 ($28.16 an hour).
Electrician licensing in Texas
The licensing authority is Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.
| License | What it takes | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Apprentice | No experience and no exam. File an online application; the license is valid one year and renewed annually. | 0 hrs | — | $20 |
| Journeyman Electrician | 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas-licensed master electrician (you may sit the exam at 7,000 hours) and a passing exam. | 8,000 hrs (≈ 4 yrs) | PSI (TDLR exam vendor) | $30 |
| Master Electrician | Hold a journeyman license at least two years, complete 12,000 hours under a Texas-licensed master electrician, and pass the exam. | 12,000 hrs (≈ 6 yrs) | PSI (TDLR exam vendor) | $45 |
Reciprocity. TDLR has master-electrician reciprocity with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina and Ohio, and journeyman reciprocity with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. No reciprocity for other license types.
Renewal. Annual, with 4 hours of continuing education.
Licensing sources: TDLR Electricians (retrieved 2026-09-16) · TDLR Journeyman Electrician application (retrieved 2026-09-16) · TDLR reciprocity (retrieved 2026-09-16) · TDLR Apprentice Electrician license (retrieved 2026-09-24) · TDLR Master Electrician license (retrieved 2026-09-24). Requirements change; confirm with Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) before you act.
Years to this license at your hours a week → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →
Common questions
Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Texas?
Texas requires a TDLR-issued license to do electrical work, in three tiers (apprentice, journeyman and master), each valid one year and renewed annually.
What does it cost to get licensed as an electrician in Texas?
The published fees in the table above run from $20 to $45 depending on the tier. Read each tier's requirements for any exam or license-issue fee charged on top.
How long does it take to become an electrician in Texas?
You can be licensed as Journeyman Electrician after 8,000 hours of on-the-job training; higher tiers take longer. The time-to-journeyman calculator turns the hours into years at your own hours a week.
How much do electricians make in Texas?
Electricians in Texas earned a median $58,570 a year in May 2025, $28.16 an hour. That median is 7% below the national figure of $63,190, and Texas ranks 45 of 51 by pay for this trade.
How much do apprentice electricians make in Texas?
In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Texas under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to electricians, 3,646 apprentices started, at a median $15.35 an hour across the 3,623 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $25.50 an hour at completion (846 completers with an exit wage DOL counts). Wages are in that year's dollars.
What electricians earn in Texas
Electricians in Texas earned a median $58,570 a year in May 2025, $28.16 an hour. 76,770 people held the job, 5.5 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 7% below the national figure of $63,190, and Texas ranks 45 of 51 by pay for this trade.
The full wage spread in Texas
| Point | Hourly | Annual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.23 | $37,920 | A tenth of the workforce earns less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $22.44 | $46,670 | A quarter earn less. |
| Median | $28.16 | $58,570 | Half earn less, half earn more. |
| 75th percentile | $34.20 | $71,130 | A quarter earn more. |
| 90th percentile | $38.61 | $80,300 | A tenth earn more than this. |
| Mean | $28.50 | $59,280 | The average. Pulled up by the top earners. |
Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.
Pay by metro area in Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX employs the most electricians of the 25 metro areas based in Texas that BLS publishes, 20,930, at a median $59,010 a year. The best-paid is Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX at $61,380.
| Metro | Employed | Median annual | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 20,930 | $59,010 | $38,740 | $81,660 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 19,730 | $59,180 | $38,800 | $84,470 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 7,340 | $60,390 | $39,260 | $78,820 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 6,660 | $57,010 | $37,460 | $75,670 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 2,000 | $61,380 | $45,240 | $75,090 |
| El Paso, TX | 1,380 | $48,140 | $34,710 | $71,530 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 1,080 | $59,410 | $36,160 | $79,360 |
| Odessa, TX | 1,030 | $57,110 | $41,690 | $75,150 |
| Midland, TX | 980 | $59,530 | $38,960 | $77,950 |
| Amarillo, TX | 750 | $54,360 | $36,100 | $82,660 |
| Lubbock, TX | 690 | $47,000 | $35,130 | $76,920 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 670 | $46,930 | $34,520 | $71,850 |
| Waco, TX | 650 | $48,880 | $36,910 | $80,900 |
| Longview, TX | 630 | $47,580 | $35,270 | $74,020 |
| Killeen-Temple, TX | 550 | $49,660 | $36,880 | $75,360 |
| Abilene, TX | 500 | $47,400 | $35,900 | $77,190 |
| College Station-Bryan, TX | 500 | $48,410 | $34,740 | $74,170 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 450 | $46,080 | $32,180 | $66,420 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 390 | $58,140 | $34,870 | $72,990 |
| Tyler, TX | 370 | $50,260 | $35,490 | $76,850 |
| Laredo, TX | 340 | $46,140 | $28,390 | $63,910 |
| San Angelo, TX | 290 | $48,050 | $36,590 | $75,000 |
| Sherman-Denison, TX | 270 | $58,080 | $36,550 | $74,770 |
| Wichita Falls, TX | 190 | $45,570 | $32,470 | $79,930 |
| Victoria, TX | 140 | $52,010 | $34,900 | $79,330 |
Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown.
Texas against its neighbors on the pay ladder
| # | State | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Nebraska | $60,820 | 6,440 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $59,720 | 11,030 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $58,740 | 8,010 |
| 45 | Texas | $58,570 | 76,770 |
| 46 | New Mexico | $58,390 | 5,020 |
| 47 | Georgia | $58,320 | 21,650 |
| 48 | Florida | $57,250 | 49,700 |
The complete ranking is on the Electricians page.
Against the national figure
| Figure | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $58,570 | $63,190 |
| Median hourly | $28.16 | $30.38 |
| 10th percentile, annual | $37,920 | $42,640 |
| 90th percentile, annual | $80,300 | $108,510 |
| Employed | 76,770 | 757,220 |
Apprenticeships in Texas
U.S. Department of Labor records list 7,908 registered apprentices active in Texas in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to electricians (SOC 47-2111). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 3,646 apprentices started, at a median $15.35 an hour across the 3,623 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $25.50 an hour at completion (846 completers with an exit wage DOL counts).
Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · What those wages come to at your hours a week → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →
Wages are DOL's own hourly figures in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.
Other trades in Texas
Plumbers and pipefitters ($59,840) · HVAC technicians ($57,760) · Welders ($53,340) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($56,290) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($78,940) · Elevator installers ($102,140) · Ironworkers ($52,240) · Sheet metal workers ($54,240) · Carpenters ($48,900) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($56,410) · Auto service technicians ($48,310) · Diesel mechanics ($58,810) · Heavy equipment operators ($50,460) · Machinists ($59,180)
See all 15 ranked by pay in Texas.
The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.