Electrical Job Costing Calculator
Price electrical work with confidence. Know your costs before you write the proposal.
👷 Labor
How many people on this electrical job
Typical: 25-35%. Covers FICA, workers comp, unemployment insurance, PTO.
🔧 Materials
Total cost of parts, supplies, and materials for this electrical job.
Markup covers your time sourcing, picking up, and storing materials. Typical: 10-25%.
🏢 Overhead
Your monthly fixed costs spread across this electrical job.
Rent, insurance, marketing, phone, software, vehicle payments, tools. Anything you pay whether or not you're on a job.
🚛 Travel & Setup
Time before and after the actual electrical work. Most contractors forget this.
Applied at your average hourly pay rate. Includes all workers.
💰 Desired Profit Margin
The percentage of the final price you keep as profit.
What to Charge
$0
Total job price
Adjust the inputs on the left to see your numbers update in real time.
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How to Cost Electrical Jobs
Electrical work has tight tolerances and your pricing should too. Between wire costs that swing 30% year to year, permit fees, and inspection callbacks, there are a lot of ways to lose money on a job you thought was profitable.
This calculator captures the full picture: electrician pay plus burden, materials at your actual cost plus markup, travel and setup time, and overhead per job. The output is your break even number.
Price above it and you make money. Price below it and you are working for free. Simple as that.
Typical Electrical Costs
Residential electrical jobs range from $150 to $800 in hard costs. A panel upgrade runs $300 to $600 in materials plus 4 to 6 hours of labor. Service calls for outlets, switches, and troubleshooting cost $100 to $300 with minimal parts. Commercial work scales up fast with materials often exceeding labor.
Target Margins for Electrical
Electrical contractors should target 35% to 45% on residential and 25% to 35% on commercial. Service calls with diagnostic fees can hit 50%+ margins. If you are bidding commercial work under 28%, you are probably not accounting for supervision time, permit costs, or inspection delays.
Tips for Electrical Job Costing
- Wire prices change constantly. Update your material costs monthly or you will underbid jobs using stale numbers.
- Include permit fees and inspection time in your job cost. Two hours of waiting for an inspector is real labor cost.
- Diagnostic and service fees should cover your truck roll. If you are waiving the fee to "win the job," you are subsidizing free estimates with profit from paying customers.
- Track hours per job type. Panel upgrades vary wildly based on the age of the home. Your average is more accurate than the industry average.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should an electrician charge per hour?
Most electricians charge $75 to $150 per hour for residential work and $90 to $200 for commercial projects. Your billing rate should be 2.5x to 3.5x your fully burdened labor cost. If your journeyman costs $40/hr with burden, charge $100 to $140/hr. This multiplier covers overhead, profit, and unbillable time like estimates, drive time, and inspection waits.
What is a good profit margin for electrical contractors?
Residential electrical work should target 35% to 45% margins. Commercial work runs tighter at 25% to 35% due to competitive bidding. Service calls with diagnostic fees can hit 50% or higher. If you are under 28% on commercial bids, you are likely missing supervision time or permit costs in your estimate.
How do you calculate labor cost for electrical work?
Multiply the electrician hourly pay by hours on the job, then add labor burden (workers comp, payroll taxes, benefits). Burden typically adds 20% to 30%. A journeyman making $32/hr with 24% burden actually costs $39.68/hr. Include travel time and inspection wait time as labor hours, since your tech is on the clock for both.
What is labor burden for electrical contractors?
Labor burden covers every cost beyond base wages: workers compensation insurance, employer payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA), health insurance, retirement contributions, and paid time off. For electrical contractors, burden adds 20% to 30% on top of base pay. A $32/hr electrician costs $38 to $42/hr when burden is included.
How do you calculate overhead for an electrical business?
Total all monthly fixed expenses: insurance, vehicle costs, tool replacement, office rent, licensing fees, marketing, and unbillable labor hours. Most electrical contractors carry $6,000 to $18,000/month in overhead. Divide by your monthly job count to get per job overhead. A company running 25 jobs per month with $10,000 overhead needs to recover $400 per job.
Knowing Your Numbers Is Step One
This calculator shows you one piece. The Growth Report shows you the full picture: where you're leaking revenue, what to fix first, and how contractors like you are growing past the ceiling.