The Texas Workforce Commission expects the number of jobs for electricians to increase by more than 21% during the ten-year period ending in 2022. The Commission predicts that more than 2,000 jobs for electricians will become available on average each year during this time frame.
Texas had the 2nd highest number of jobs for electricians in Texas as of 2015 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cities in Texas that have a particularly high number of electricians include:
- Houston area: 2nd highest number of jobs of any city
- Dallas area: 5th highest number of jobs of any city
- Odessa: 6th highest concentration of jobs per population
- Rural West Texas Region: 5th highest number of jobs of any rural area
The design firm ENR featured major construction projects underway in Texas. Daikin’s 4.2-million square-foot HVAC manufacturing campus in Waller should be completed by early September 2016.
The most expensive building construction projects in Texas include:
- $11.5 billion Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project Trains 1 and 2 being built by Cheniere Energy Inc. The first train should start operation as early as 2018.
- $2-billion Liquefaction Project 3 by Freeport LNG on Quintana Island
- $650-million Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center renovation and expansion in Houston
- $506-million expansion of the Texas Children’s Hospital Pediatric Tower in Houston
In addition, public universities in Texas will undero nearly $5 billion in new building construction work during 2016 and 2017.
With the large amount of construction underway in Texas, skilled craft workers such as electricians are in short supply. More than 80% of the contractors in Texas expect it to be difficult to find skilled craft workers in the coming year according to a 2015 survey by the Aossicated General Contractors of America.
Salaries for Residential Electricians Throughout Texas
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the range of salaries earned by electricians in urban and rural parts of Texas. Highly skilled master electricians can expect to earn salaries at the highest end of these ranges (2015):
Salaries for Specialty Electricians in the Major Cities of Texas
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides salaries for a number of different types of specialized electricians that work in Texas’ major cities (2015). Those with the most education and experience tend to earn salaries at the upper end of the ranges shown here:
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers:
- Abilene: $54,190 – $73,310
- Amarillo: $25,470 – $65,030
- Austin-Round Rock: $58,900 – $88,640
- Beaumont-Port Arthur: $67,240 – $77,060
- College Station-Bryan: $49,210 – $73,610
- Corpus Christi: $53,660 – $76,470
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $54,500 – $76,900
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $56,410 – $75,760
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: $58,190 – $80,140
- Killeen-Temple: $49,810 – $72,040
- Lubbock: $65,350 – $88,730
- Odessa: $52,550 – $68,010
- San Angelo: $28,860 – $45,380
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $49,590 – $90,640
- Sherman-Denison: $36,830 – $65,580
- Tyler: $56,210 – $77,230
- Victoria: $38,810 – $73,100
- Waco: $47,430 – $77,050
Electrical and Electronics Repairers Specializing in Commercial and Industrial Equipment:
- Abilene: $37,990 – $59,650
- Amarillo: $47,080 – $73,590
- Austin-Round Rock: $38,540 – $64,310
- Beaumont-Port Arthur: $65,800 – $79,580
- Brownsville-Harlingen: $39,230 – $57,580
- Corpus Christi: $64,890 – $80,870
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $53,680 – $76,780
- El Paso: $41,900 – $59,850
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $52,520 – $81,880
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: $54,960 – $97,940
- Killeen-Temple: $46,810 – $56,210
- Longview: $62,770 – $81,220
- Lubbock: $42,780 – $67,920
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $28,540 – $59,500
- Odessa: $47,090 – $72,450
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $53,160 – $72,340
- Texarkana: $54,410 – $59,880
- Victoria: $55,450 – $95,280
- Waco: $54,590 – $75,380
Electrical and Electronics Repairers Specializing in Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay:
- Austin-Round Rock: $63,690 – $94,470
- Beaumont-Port Arthur: $64,740 – $80,500
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $47,410 – $73,300
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $48,880 – $99,260
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: $59,410 – $93,600
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $45,840 – $71,880
Electrical and Electronics Repairers Specializing in Transportation Equipment:
- Austin-Round Rock: $45,730 – $57,740
- Corpus Christi: $49,300 – $78,220
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $55,590 – $66,780
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $56,800 – $77,150
- Killeen-Temple: $45,420 – $73,190
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $65,800 – $78,650
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers Specializing in Motor Vehicles:
- Amarillo: $30,730 – $57,560
- Austin-Round Rock: $30,070 – $40,300
- College Station-Bryan: $24,850 – $36,260
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $33,450 – $49,200
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $29,130 – $44,010
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Hill: $31,380 – $51,610
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $32,110 – $37,900
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $33,880 – $46,420
Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Installers and Repairers:
- Austin-Round Rock: $31,930 – $58,780
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $37,860 – $52,710
- El Paso: $27,890 – $39,250
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Hill: $35,720 – $53,700
- Lubbock: $28,880 – $49,800
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $18,190 – $28,090
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $45,740 – $60,950
Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers:
- Amarillo: $41,030 – $57,900
- Austin-Round Rock: $43,570 – $68,600
- Beaumont-Port Arthur: $39,620 – $49,820
- Corpus Christi: $38,420 – $58,130
- Dallas-Plano-Irving: $42,720 – $60,680
- El Paso: $40,390 – $81,800
- Fort Worth-Arlington: $41,850 – $62,220
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: $45,990 – $61,750
- Killeen-Temple: $27,140 – $44,950
- Longview: $33,530 – $45,930
- Lubbock: $33,410 – $56,740
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: $42,630 – $56,960
- Odessa: $45,010 – $50,500
- San Angelo: $32,590 – $49,420
- San Antonio-New Braunfels: $41,840 – $58,680
- Texarkana: $39,090 – $49,370
- Tyler: $37,850 – $59,330
- Waco: $38,310 – $61,130
The statewide average for electricians in these specialized roles is shown in the table below:
Salaries for Electrician Apprentices Throughout Texas
Electrician apprentices in the rural West Texas Region earned the 4th highest average salary of electrician apprentices in any rural area in the country as of 2015 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). In addition, Texas had the largest number of jobs for electrician apprentices that year. Cities with an exceptionally large number of jobs for electrician apprentices included:
- Dallas—3rd in the country
- Houston—4th in the country
The number of jobs for electrician apprentices should increase by more than one-third during the ten-year ending in 2022 according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides salary data for the occupational classification for “Electrician’s Helpers” in the major cities and rural areas of Texas. Shown below is information that represents the wages earned during an electrical apprenticeship (2015):