- The middle half earn between $23.95 and $45.08 an hour.
- Missouri ranks 25th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Missouri pays more than 6 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 12,780 electricians on payrolls in Missouri.
- At the state median wage, an electrical contracting business needs to bill about $125.82 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Electrician pay in Missouri, bottom to top
The BLS group covers electricians who install and repair wiring in homes, businesses and plants. Line workers on power lines are counted separately and are not included.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.09 | $43,860 | $20.50 |
| 25th percentile | $23.95 | $49,810 | $23.76 |
| Median | $31.45 | $65,410 | $30.38 |
| 75th percentile | $45.08 | $93,760 | $40.36 |
| 90th percentile | $50.03 | $104,060 | $52.17 |
| Average (mean) | $34.77 | $72,310 | $34.37 |
From the bottom tenth ($21.09) to the top tenth ($50.03), the top of the scale pays about 2.4 times the bottom in Missouri, close to the 2.5 times spread for electricians nationwide.
The floor is higher than nationally ($21.09 against $20.50) but the ceiling is lower ($50.03 against $52.17), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average wage, $34.77, sits 11% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical electrician makes.
How Missouri compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $65,410 in Missouri against $63,190 nationally, $2,220 more.
In the state ranking, Missouri sits 25th, between North Dakota ($31.59) and West Virginia ($31.16). The range runs from $23.59 in Arkansas to $48.71 in Oregon.
Against its neighboring states, Missouri is in the middle: Illinois and Kansas pay more, and Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Missouri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | $31.45 | $65,410 | |
| Arkansas | $23.59 | $49,070 | −$7.86 an hour |
| Illinois | $47.87 | $99,560 | +$16.42 an hour |
| Iowa | $29.26 | $60,860 | −$2.19 an hour |
| Kansas | $31.66 | $65,860 | +$0.21 an hour |
| Kentucky | $28.71 | $59,720 | −$2.74 an hour |
| Nebraska | $29.24 | $60,820 | −$2.21 an hour |
| Oklahoma | $29.33 | $61,010 | −$2.12 an hour |
| Tennessee | $29.37 | $61,090 | −$2.08 an hour |
How many electricians work in Missouri
About 12,780 electricians work on payrolls in Missouri, 1.7% of the 757,220 nationwide, the 22nd largest count among the states.
That is 4.4 of every 1,000 jobs in Missouri, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What an electrical contracting business in Missouri should charge
Say you run an electrical contracting business in Missouri and pay the state median of $31.45 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $31.45 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $70,420 |
| Break-even rate | ($70,420 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $106.95 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $106.95 ÷ 0.85 | $125.82 |
That is $125.82 per billable hour, 4 times the wage, and $1.88 more than the $123.94 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $45.08 in Missouri, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $149.76.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.95, the rate only drops to $112.65.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the electrician labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an electrician in Missouri
- Licensing. What Missouri asks for before you can work on your own: Electrical license in Missouri.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how electrical contractors run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2111, electricians, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: electrician salary by state.