Electrical profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Electrical falls under Specialty trade contractors. For tax year 2023, 2,521,516 returns reported $257.8 billion in receipts, $80.4 billion in cost of sales and $40.5 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 68.8% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 15.7% |
| Average receipts per return | $102,220 |
| Average net income per return | $16,054 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in electrical
Electrical service work is mostly labor; panel and EV jobs add equipment and permits. Diagnosing old wiring takes longer than anyone wants to pay for.
Where electrical margin leaks, and how to win it back
- Troubleshooting time quoted flat with no cap
- Permits and inspections not priced in
- Material price swings on wire
- Return trips for inspection
- Small jobs with no minimum charge
Ways electricians raise margin: set a minimum charge for small jobs; price panel and ev work only after seeing the panel; bundle small items into one visit; charge for troubleshooting time in blocks.
Check your electrical prices against the costs
The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:
| Service | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| EV charger, Level 2, hardwired | $1,325 | $850 to $1,800 a job |
| EV charger, Level 2, plug-in | $1,600 | $1,000 to $2,200 a job |
| EV charger install, customer-supplied unit | $705 | $410 to $1,000 a job |
| Panel upgrade for an EV charger | $2,150 | $1,300 to $3,000 a job |
| Holiday lighting, installed | $3.75 | $2.50 to $5.00 a foot |
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual electrical menu: troubleshoot a dead circuit; replace outlets and switches; gfci and afci upgrades; light fixture or ceiling fan install; smoke and co alarm replacement; ev charger, level 2, hardwired; ev charger, level 2, plug-in; ev charger install, customer-supplied unit; panel upgrade for an ev charger; whole-home surge protection; generator inlet and interlock; holiday lighting, installed; outdoor and landscape lighting.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In electrical it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are electricians pay an average of $61 a month for; commercial auto at $275 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent electrical job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for electricians, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr, cost to install an EV charger at home, checked October 8, 2026
- Bob Vila, cost to install an EV charger at home, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, electric car charging installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, electrical panel upgrade cost, checked October 8, 2026
- This Old House, cost to upgrade an electrical panel, checked October 8, 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files), checked October 8, 2026
- US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, Christmas light installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Bob Vila, Christmas light installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.