Home › Trades › Electricians › Wisconsin

How to become an electrician in Wisconsin

Wisconsin requires a state license or registration to install, repair or maintain electrical wiring (DSPS): electrical apprentices register while in an apprentice contract, journeyman electricians qualify through a construction electrician apprenticeship of at least 3 years or documented experience (8,000 hours over at least 48 months), and master electricians through more experience, a year as a licensed journeyman or an electrical engineering degree. Electricians in Wisconsin earned a median $76,540 a year in May 2025 ($36.80 an hour).

State license for workers

Required

a passage on the pages read says so

On-the-job hours

No single figure

no license here is recorded with one on-the-job hours figure of 2,000 or more; the table gives what each asks

Published fees, first steps

$30

for Electrical Apprentice; published fees only, and the table names other amounts that are not in this sum

Median pay

$76,540

$36.80 an hour, May 2025

Electrician licensing in Wisconsin

The licensing authority is Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS). 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 (registration)	Entered into an electrical apprentice contract recognized under Wis. Stat. ch. 106; registered apprentices do electrical wiring under the general supervision of a licensed or registered master electrician. There is no exam. DSPS lists a $15 credential fee and a $15 application fee. The registration renews yearly for $15.	—	—	$30
Journeyman Electrician	Complete a construction electrician apprenticeship of at least 3 years approved by the US Department of Labor or the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, or have at least 8,000 hours of electrical wiring experience over at least 48 months; a degree or diploma from a 2-year electrical engineering or electrical-related program counts as 12 months and 2,000 hours of that experience. Pass the journeyman exam (open book, passing score 70%); journeymen do electrical wiring under the general supervision of a licensed or registered master electrician. DSPS lists a $100 credential fee, a $35 application fee and a $30 exam fee paid to DSPS; its exam fee schedule also lists a $95 candidate fee to Pearson for candidates who choose the computer-based exam at a Pearson center in Wisconsin. The license renews every four years for $100, with 24 hours of continuing education.	—	Journeyman electrician exam	$165
Master Electrician	A bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, 12 months of electrical wiring experience while licensed as a journeyman electrician, or at least 10,000 hours of electrical wiring experience over at least 60 months. Pass the master exam (open book, passing score 70%). DSPS lists a $200 credential fee, a $35 application fee and a $30 exam fee paid to DSPS; its exam fee schedule also lists a $95 candidate fee to Pearson for candidates who choose the computer-based exam at a Pearson center in Wisconsin. The license renews every four years for $200, with 24 hours of continuing education.	—	Master electrician exam	$265

Reciprocity. A journeyman electrician who holds a valid, unexpired Iowa or New Hampshire journeyman license acquired through a state examination, held continuously for at least one year before applying, can be licensed without the Wisconsin exam; DSPS sets the same route for an Iowa master electrician license.

Renewal. Every four years on June 30: journeyman licenses $100 and master licenses $200, each with 24 hours of continuing education; apprentice registrations yearly ($15).

The steps in order, with exams, fees and renewal → · 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 Wisconsin?

What does it cost to get licensed as an electrician in Wisconsin?

The published fees in the table above run from $30 to $265 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 Wisconsin?

It depends on which credential you need and the training and testing each step takes; the full path is in the table above.

How much do electricians make in Wisconsin?

Electricians in Wisconsin earned a median $76,540 a year in May 2025, $36.80 an hour. That median is 21% above the national figure of $63,190, and Wisconsin ranks 13 of 51 by pay for this trade.

How much do apprentice electricians make in Wisconsin?

In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Wisconsin under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to electricians, 179 apprentices started, at a median $20.60 an hour across the 178 whose starting wage DOL counts. Of those who completed that year, 9 have an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs. Wages are in that year's dollars.

What electricians earn in Wisconsin

Electricians in Wisconsin earned a median $76,540 a year in May 2025, $36.80 an hour. 14,310 people held the job, 4.9 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 21% above the national figure of $63,190, and Wisconsin ranks 13 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual

$76,540

$36.80 an hour

Rank by pay

#13

of 51 with a published median

Employed in WI

14,310

4.9 per 1,000 jobs

Location quotient

1.00

1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in Wisconsin

Point	Hourly	Annual	Meaning
10th percentile	$21.55	$44,830	A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile	$26.84	$55,820	A quarter earn less.
Median	$36.80	$76,540	Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile	$45.09	$93,780	A quarter earn more.
90th percentile	$48.93	$101,770	A tenth earn more than this.
Mean	$35.49	$73,810	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 Wisconsin

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI employs the most electricians of the 13 metro areas based in Wisconsin that BLS publishes, 4,490, at a median $77,800 a year. The best-paid is Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI at $82,510.

Metro	Employed	Median annual	10th pct	90th pct
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	4,490	$77,800	$45,170	$103,850
Madison, WI	1,760	$78,430	$45,050	$102,860
Green Bay, WI	910	$77,260	$45,820	$97,380
Appleton, WI	810	$66,830	$44,620	$97,130
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI	810	$77,080	$45,830	$98,820
Janesville-Beloit, WI	560	$82,170	$45,250	$103,080
Wausau, WI	480	$78,680	$41,530	$86,790
Sheboygan, WI	370	$78,880	$40,320	$102,190
Eau Claire, WI	350	$75,380	$44,450	$92,630
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI	350	$82,510	$45,500	$106,820
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	320	$78,760	$45,800	$108,870
Fond du Lac, WI	170	$77,060	$45,290	$116,610
Kenosha, WI	120	$74,970	$39,650	$98,240

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. Listed under another state but reaching into Wisconsin: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI and Duluth, MN-WI.

Wisconsin against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#	State	Median annual	Employed
10	Connecticut	$77,540	7,710
11	New Jersey	$77,250	13,520
12	Montana	$76,760	2,750
13	Wisconsin	$76,540	14,310
14	Michigan	$76,270	23,530
15	California	$76,160	73,310
16	Wyoming	$76,120	2,960

The complete ranking is on the Electricians page.

Against the national figure

Figure	Wisconsin	United States
Median annual	$76,540	$63,190
Median hourly	$36.80	$30.38
10th percentile, annual	$44,830	$42,640
90th percentile, annual	$101,770	$108,510
Employed	14,310	757,220

Apprenticeships in Wisconsin

U.S. Department of Labor records list 257 registered apprentices active in Wisconsin 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, 179 apprentices started, at a median $20.60 an hour across the 178 whose starting wage DOL counts. Of those who completed that year, 9 have an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs.

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 Wisconsin

Plumbers and pipefitters ($81,210) · HVAC technicians ($61,710) · Welders ($58,410) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($58,610) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($105,820) · Elevator installers ($77,640) · Ironworkers ($92,820) · Sheet metal workers ($77,760) · Carpenters ($61,660) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($80,120) · Auto service technicians ($54,350) · Diesel mechanics ($62,450) · Heavy equipment operators ($75,280) · Machinists ($59,110)

See all 15 ranked by pay in Wisconsin.

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.