- The middle half earn between $28.08 and $46.01 an hour.
- Rhode Island ranks 18th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Rhode Island pays less than both neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 2,420 electricians on payrolls in Rhode Island.
- At the state median wage, an electrical contracting business needs to bill about $133.14 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Electrician pay in Rhode Island, 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 | $20.67 | $42,990 | $20.50 |
| 25th percentile | $28.08 | $58,410 | $23.76 |
| Median | $35.62 | $74,090 | $30.38 |
| 75th percentile | $46.01 | $95,700 | $40.36 |
| 90th percentile | $49.44 | $102,840 | $52.17 |
| Average (mean) | $35.65 | $74,150 | $34.37 |
From the bottom tenth ($20.67) to the top tenth ($49.44), the top of the scale pays about 2.4 times the bottom in Rhode Island, close to the 2.5 times spread for electricians nationwide.
The floor is higher than nationally ($20.67 against $20.50) but the ceiling is lower ($49.44 against $52.17), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $35.65, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Rhode Island compares with other states
Over a full year, the Rhode Island median of $74,090 is $10,900 more than the national $63,190.
In the state ranking, Rhode Island sits 18th, between Maine ($36.24) and Nevada ($35.37). The range runs from $23.59 in Arkansas to $48.71 in Oregon.
Every one of the neighboring states pays electricians more than Rhode Island. The closest is Connecticut at $37.28, and the biggest gap is with Massachusetts.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Rhode Island. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $35.62 | $74,090 | |
| Connecticut | $37.28 | $77,540 | +$1.66 an hour |
| Massachusetts | $38.18 | $79,420 | +$2.56 an hour |
How many electricians work in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has one of the smaller workforces in the trade: 2,420 electricians on payrolls, 0.3% of the 757,220 nationwide.
That is 4.8 of every 1,000 jobs in Rhode Island, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What an electrical contracting business in Rhode Island should charge
Higher wages in Rhode Island go straight into the price. Take an electrical contracting business in Rhode Island paying the state median of $35.62 and run it through the labor rate calculator with 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 | $35.62 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $79,757 |
| Break-even rate | ($79,757 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $113.17 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $113.17 ÷ 0.85 | $133.14 |
That is $133.14 per billable hour, 3.7 times the wage, and $9.20 more than the $123.94 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $46.01 in Rhode Island, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $151.39.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $28.08, the rate only drops to $119.90.
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 Rhode Island
- Licensing. What Rhode Island asks for before you can work on your own: Electrical license in Rhode Island.
- 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.