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Last updated: 6 January 2025
What's the average electrician salary in the UK?
Being a great career to get into and progress, there are a number of reasons why you may be wondering how much an electrician earns. Here’s what you need to know about the average electrician salary in the UK.
How much do electricians make?
Wherever you are in your career path as an electrician, you want to make sure you're earning a fair wage. That is why it is useful to know what the average electrician salary is in the UK.
When it comes to working as a tradesperson, it is fair to be interested in how much money you could potentially earn.
The average salary of an electrician will tend to be determined by your levels of experience. However there are other factors that affect how much electricians make.
For a quick insight into the average electrician salary, take a look at our table below:
| Level | Per hour | Per day | Per year | Business Costs* | Approximate Take Home Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £6.30 | £50.40 | £11,000 | 0 | £10,700 |
| Newly Qualified | £18.19 | £146 | £32,000 | 0 | £25,200 |
| Employed | £25 | £200 | £52,000 | 0 | £39,550 |
| Sole Trader | £40 | £320 | £59,000 | £7,375 | £40,000 |
| Business Owner (ltd company) | £45 | £360 | £66,000 | £11,616 | £43,300 |
| *includes estimated costs for business expenses such as vehicle, tools, insurance, fuel etc | |||||
| Last updated: October 2024 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | |||||
As well as location and experience, there are a number of other factors that affect the average electrician salary in the UK.
What affects how much UK electricians earn?
Before we dive into looking at the average salary for an electrician, it’s important to consider the other factors at play that might affect your base earnings.
Generally speaking, these factors will have an impact on your overall salary:
Location - Throughout the UK, your location will unfortunately affect average earnings
Qualifications - Training and accreditations will often mean you can charge more
Experience - This means you can take on more larger and more challenging jobs
Services - Carrying out a wider variety of jobs based on their complexity and size
Difficulty of jobs - Challenging projects mean you’re able to charge more
People skills - Form great relationships with your customers to enable more repeat and referral business
There are, of course, various other factors out there as well that can impact your salary. But if you focus on these specific points, you’ll find you can increase your electrician salary over time.
Alternatively, if you're a business owner, you can use these factors and averages to help determine how much you pay your employees. It's also important to make sure you offer equal pay to help encourage women to become electricians.
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Find more work with Checkatrade and increase your potential earnings
How much does an apprentice electrician earn?
Deciding to go down the route of an apprenticeship is a fantastic way to start off your electrician career.
You’ll be learning everything you need to know
You'll get valuable insight from experienced electricians in real-life settings
You’ll get paid as you train
For the typical electrician’s apprentice, the average hourly rate sits at £6.30, though you may earn more or less, depending on your employer.
As a result, your overall electrician salary will be lower than a qualified electrician, but you can still expect to make around £10,700 in a year.
Want to know how that compares?
What are the highest paid trade apprenticeships in the UK?
Looking for the highest paid apprenticeships in the UK? Chances are you're a more hands-on learner. Going to university means hours spent sitting through lectures and reading book after book. So, if this style of learning isn’t for you, why not consider a trade apprenticeship? The best
How much does a newly qualified electrician earn?
Once you’ve passed your apprenticeship or qualification course, you can now begin your new electrician role full-time.
This means you can expect your average electrician salary to increase. Even when you're newly qualified, you can still earn a lot more than when you were in training.
A newly qualified electrician can expect to earn around double that of an apprentice. That means an estimated starting salary of around £25,200.
This not bad going as a starting wage in a new career.
What is the average self-employed electrician salary?
Naturally, once you’ve been working as an electrician for a while, you might decide that you’re ready to go self-employed and become your own boss.
This is great as it means you can be more selective in the jobs you take on. One of the benefits of going it alone is managing your own work-life balance.
How you work
Where you work
When you work
You also get to decide the amount you take home at the end of the month.
Naturally, you'll still need to manage your cash flow and stay on top of your expenses and outgoings. You need to price your jobs to make a profit.
However, even with that being said, a self-employed electrician salary could still be around £40,000 per year.
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Earn more money with Checkatrade
You should now have a good idea of what electricians in the UK can earn. But did you know that electrical professionals can get support for their businesses and find more work by joining Checkatrade?
For example, in 2024, there were over 1.3 million searches for electrical jobs with Checkatrade.* As a checked and vetted member, you could also tap into that existing customer interest.
Fixed membership from Checkatrade means you can expect a certain number of leads throughout the year.
There are a number of member benefits that can really help electrical firms - whatever their size or service offering.
More electrician work coming your way
We'll guarantee your work if booked through us (T&Cs apply)
Dedicated trades app - for jobs, offers and discounts, quoting and invoicing (and more!)
Savings on a range of business essentials like tools, materials and workwear
20% off the cost of your public liability insurance with Superscript
Want to increase the number of jobs you have? Switching up the work you're doing is almost a surefire way to raise your average electrician salary.
Why not speak to us today about becoming a member?Our fixed membership option lets you build the plan that’s perfect for you and your business needs.
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Electrician salary FAQs
How much does an electrician make an hour?
While it’s helpful to look at overall salary, many electricians operate on an hourly rate. This can help simplify things when it comes to invoicing customers.
On average, electricians tend to charge around £25. But it’s important to remember that you can still charge differing hourly rates, depending on the type of services you’re offering.
Do UK electricians earn good money?
As you’ll probably have noticed, electricians get paid very well.On average, most electricians will make a typical wage of about £200 per day, which is a healthy salary to consider as a tradesperson.
How much do electricians make in London?
With regional variations affecting average salaries, it is worth considering London weighting. The amount that you can charge for jobs is higher, and this will reflect in wages as well. This is to reflect the higher cost of living that comes from being based in London.
What is the highest salary for an electrician?
As the owner of a limited company, an electrician could expect to take home around £43,300after all business expenses have been taken care of. The more yougrow your electrical business, the more this figure could increase as well.
How much does an electrician apprenticeship pay in the UK?
This will depend on the employer and course, but could be around £43,300 per year. Government estimates indicate this could vary further for a yearly salary, and be as much as £20,000.**
Checkatrade members get more for their money
Our members save ££££s every year on business essentials
* Internal search data from users of the Checkatrade.com website in 2024
** GOV.UK data from the Apprenticeships information pages (accessed here)
