Skip to content
State files updated Oct 27, 2026
Look up a contractor
MenuClose

Home / Electricians / Pennsylvania

Hands stripping a wire with pliers at an open junction box on a white wall

Home / Electricians / Pennsylvania

How to become an electrician in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no state license or exam for individual electricians; cities and counties license them. Pennsylvania has no state electrical contractor license either. There is no state license, so there is no state reciprocity; each municipality sets its own rules.2

181registered apprenticeship programs$32.50median an hour in Pennsylvania

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In PA
181 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In PA
33 schools with programs
Compare 33 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed electrical contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Run your own shop

    Pennsylvania has no state electrical contractor license. Cities and counties license electrical contractors, so check with the building department where you work.

    Issued by
    City or county
    Licensing in Pennsylvania
Pay once you're working

$67,600

a year is the median for electricians in Pennsylvania ($32.50 an hour, May 2025).4

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Reading$36.09
  2. Philadelphia–Camden$35.86
  3. Harrisburg–Carlisle$34.53
  4. Scranton–$33.44
  5. Pittsburgh$33.34
Pennsylvania median $32.50 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as an electrician in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has no state electrical contractor license; cities and counties license contractors.1

Are electricians in demand in Pennsylvania?

Projections Central expects about 2,320 electrician openings a year in Pennsylvania through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

181 registered programs in Pennsylvania. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for electricians in Pennsylvania

Sources

  1. Municipal licensing, for example Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (phila.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. Municipal licensing, for example Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections: local journeyman licenses (palegis.us, 2026-10-27)
  3. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  4. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Pennsylvania, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)