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You run an electrical business, you’re bringing in work, and the numbers look solid—but how much should you actually be taking home? That’s a question many owners struggle with, and it matters for both your personal finances and the long-term health of your company.
In this guide, you’ll learn what electrician business owners typically earn, what factors influence your pay, and proven strategies to boost your profits.
Key takeaways
Here’s a quick overview of what electrical business owners make and what drives those earnings:
Earnings vary: Electrician business owners typically earn between $60,000 and $150,000 annually.
Profit comes from planning: Your income depends on efficiency, not just job volume.
Data drives better pay: Tracking job costs and overhead helps you see where to adjust pricing and protect margins.
Growth is within reach: Adding new services and reinvesting in training and equipment can help boost your long-term earnings.
Systems build stability: Tools like Housecall Pro make it easier to stay organized, manage profit, and pay yourself consistently.
Jump ahead
- National average electrician business owner salary
- How much should you pay yourself as an electrical business owner?
- Electrician business owner salaries by state and city
- How to maximize profits as an electrical business owner
- Common mistakes electrician business owners make (and how to fix them)
- How Housecall Pro can help electrician business owners
National average electrician business owner salary
In the U.S., electrician business owners typically make anywhere from $60,000–$150,000 per year.* This number varies widely based on factors like your company size and local market.
Owners of large, established companies can earn $200,000 or more annually. Solo operators likely take home less, especially during the early years when reinvesting cash flow is a priority.
*All data in this guide is compiled from reputable salary sites such as ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor.
Factors that affect your salary
Every electrical company is different. Your salary as a business owner can vary based on the following factors:
- Business size: Bigger businesses typically have higher revenue—and higher overhead.
- Location: Densely populated markets in California, Massachusetts, and New York often pay the best. Rural regions tend to pay a bit lower, though lower costs often balance out the reduced prices.
- Specialization: Companies that specialize in commercial, industrial, or 24/7 emergency work often take home more than more general shops.
- Market demand: Areas with new construction booms or large-scale retrofits can mean better local pay.
- Experience and licensing: The more experienced you are, the more you can charge. A master electrician can price jobs higher than an entry-level electrician.
- Material costs: Shifts in copper and other supply prices can tighten margins fast if bids don’t adjust to match.
Keeping these variables in mind helps you know when it’s time to adjust pricing or set a new salary target.
Learn more: How to Price Electrical Jobs: Average Rates and Pricing Strategies
How much should you pay yourself as an electrical business owner?
The right owner salary balances personal income with business stability. Pay yourself too little, and your hard work doesn’t pay off. Pay yourself too much, and you could starve your business of cash flow.
A simple formula can help you find that balance:
Owner pay = Net profit x target compensation percentage
Many small business owners take 30%–50% of annual net profit as salary and reinvest the rest in operations, marketing, or equipment.
For example, let’s say your company brings in $600,000 in annual revenue with a 15% profit margin.
15% of $600,000 = $90,000 (Net profit)
Owner salary (50% of profit) = 0.50 x $90,000 = $45,000
Remainder (50% of profit) = $45,000 (Reinvested)
As your profits grow, your salary scales with it—but only if you have accurate numbers. Housecall Pro’s Job Costing feature shows exactly where your money goes on each job. Combine that with Advanced Reporting, and you can track trends in profit margins to understand when you can afford to give yourself a raise.
Electrician business owner salaries by state and city
Where you live impacts what you make. Factors like material prices, cost of living, and local licensing requirements all impact your salary as an electrical business owner.
In states like New Jersey and California, where the cost of living is high and licensing requirements are stricter, service rates are higher. That pushes owner income higher, often to $100,000 or more per year.
In the Midwest and South, where overhead is lower but competition can be tighter, owner earnings tend to land closer to $70,000–$80,000.
Of course, your profit depends on more than your location. Pricing structure, local demand, labor availability, and even weather patterns affect your bottom line. Knowing your market and adjusting your prices to match helps you maximize your profits to keep them on pace with your effort.
How to maximize profits as an electrical business owner
Profit shouldn’t be a mysterious number that magically appears at the end of the month. It’s the result of choices you make every day: which jobs you take, how you price them, and how well your team uses their time. Here’s how to keep your margins strong.
Step 1: Build regular revenue through a mix of services
A full calendar doesn’t always mean steady income. Service work, maintenance plans, and small upgrades can help balance larger project jobs that fluctuate seasonally.
For example, you might offer panel inspections, lighting retrofits, or electrical vehicle (EV) charger installs to fill slower weeks without overextending your team. Adding diversity to your work helps keep revenue predictable and reduces downtime between your bigger contracts.
Step 2: Price jobs based on real costs
It’s easy to match competitor pricing, but that can eat into profit. Your prices should reflect your specific costs: labor, materials, insurance, and overhead.
With Housecall Pro’s Price Book, you can set standard rates that include your target margins and update them whenever costs change. When you price every job correctly, you protect profits.
Step 3: Track expenses and overhead regularly
The small costs—material waste, fuel, fleet maintenance—can quietly cut into what you take home at the end of each month. It all adds up, even when the individual expenses feel inconsequential.
Housecall Pro’s Advanced Reporting gives you visibility into spending across the board. Review these numbers monthly and adjust as needed to keep your business lean.
Step 4: Keep your schedule efficient and your crew productive
Time is your most valuable resource. When appointments get missed or routes remain inefficient, you waste hours that could’ve been billable. Stay on top of your schedule and organize things to maximize working hours actually on the job.
Use Scheduling and Dispatching tools to plan routes, assign jobs, and stay on top of changes in real time. When your crew spends less time driving and more time on-site, your profit margin improves naturally.
Step 5: Upsell and cross-sell to existing customers
Every satisfied customer represents an opportunity for future work. Tap into that potential by offering preventive maintenance, service agreements, or energy-efficient upgrades after successful jobs.
Automated service reminders make this follow-up quick and simple. Write the message, then send it out in bulk via email or text to your existing customer base. Turning one-time visits into repeat calls creates a dependable stream of revenue throughout the year.
Step 6: Strengthen loyalty and encourage referrals
Word of mouth is one of the strongest drivers of growth in the trades. Encourage happy customers to share their thoughts via reviews and referrals. You can even incentivize those referrals with small thank-yous like discounts or giveaway entries.
Use automated marketing to send friendly follow-ups after each job and request reviews. As you bring in more and more positive reviews, your reputation strengthens. With that, you can earn more jobs and feel less pressured to compete on price.
Learn more: 18+ Referral Program Ideas to Attract Customers (With Examples)
Step 7: Reinvest in your business
A portion of your profits should go back into the business each month. If you don’t reinvest, it’s hard to grow–and in turn increase your income.
You can invest in things like technician training, updated testing equipment, or even a new marketing strategy. Each improvement, no matter how small, makes future jobs smoother and more profitable.
Learn more: Electrician Marketing Strategies & Ideas to Grow Your Business
Step 8: Use data to guide your decisions
Every hour you work and every part you order adds up. When you can see what’s actually earning money and what’s draining it, you can run your business strategically rather than relying on gut instinct.
Housecall Pro gives you that clarity with real-time job costing, automated reporting, and profitability insights built right into your workflow. You can track labor, materials, and time on every job, compare margins across services, and spot when pricing needs an update before profits slip. Whatever decisions you’re making, you’ll have accurate, easy-to-read data guiding every step.
Step 9: Build partnerships that bring in consistent work
Connect with builders, property managers, and other trade businesses to bring in steady work. These relationships take time to build, but they turn into consistent jobs without heavy marketing spend. Start by reaching out with a simple introduction, offering to handle overflow work, or following up after a successful project to stay top of mind.
When you’re overbooked and your team is stretched thin, bring in trusted subcontractors. This allows you to scale up without long-term overhead before you’re ready to hire more employees.
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Common mistakes electrician business owners make (and how to fix them)
Profit loss rarely comes from one mistake. More often, it’s a handful of small habits that build up over time and cut into your bottom line.
Watch out for these common issues:
- Underpricing jobs: If you match competitor rates without looking at your own costs, you leave money on the table. Track your costs accordingly to standardize prices that work for your business.
- Hidden time drains: Untracked prep work and drive time add up. Carefully track each hour to see how it stacks up against billable work, then adjust if needed.
- Inconsistent billing: If you don’t send invoices right away, you delay your paycheck. Stay on top of invoicing to keep funds flowing and reduce missed charges.
- Ignoring the numbers: If you don’t know your margins, you can’t plan your salary confidently. Use reporting tools to track trends before they become problems.
Free download: Use our electrician invoicing template to streamline your billing and reduce admin time.
How Housecall Pro can help electrician business owners
A well-run electrical business requires visibility into every part of your workflow so you can see what’s working and what’s not.
With Housecall Pro’s electrician software, you can:
- Create accurate estimates using Estimating Software
- Track real job costs with Job Costing
- Set and manage consistent pricing using Price Book
- Monitor financial performance through Advanced Reporting
- Keep jobs moving smoothly with Scheduling and Dispatch
Start Housecall Pro’s 14-day free trial today and start building a more profitable tomorrow for your electrical company.
FAQ
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How much do electricians make owning their own business?
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Electrician business owners typically make between $60,000 and $150,000 per year. That range varies based on factors specific to the company, but many electrician business owners fall into this range.
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Can an electrician make $200,000?
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Absolutely. While the average electrician makes $62,350 annually in the U.S., business owners can make far more. Owners of larger, successful electrician companies can break the $200,000 threshold.
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Can electricians have their own business?
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Yes. Thousands of electricians across the U.S. run successful small businesses—some solo, others with full crews. Starting your own business gives you the freedom to choose your projects, set your schedule, and build long-term equity.
