What do the BLS numbers show?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics asks households about union membership as part of its Current Population Survey. In 2025, full-time union members in construction and extraction occupations had median weekly earnings of $1,561. Nonunion workers in those occupations had $1,004. That puts the union figure about 55 percent higher. Measured by industry, union workers in construction earned $1,585 a week and nonunion workers earned $1,132, a gap of about 40 percent. Across all occupations the figures were $1,404 and $1,174.
Read these numbers with care. BLS says its union pay comparisons are broad and do not control for occupation mix, age, firm size or region. All of those affect pay. Electricians are counted inside the construction group and do not get their own line. October 2025 was not collected during the federal shutdown, so the 2025 figures are averages of 11 months. Self-employed contractors are left out completely.
Wages versus the full package
Take-home pay is only part of the comparison. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation survey for June 2026 puts private-sector union workers at $63.06 an hour in total compensation. Of that, $37.52 was wages and $25.54 was benefits. Nonunion workers came in at $45.49 total, with $32.41 in wages and $13.08 in benefits. The hourly wage gap is about $5. The benefit gap is about $12. Most of the union advantage sits in benefits.
Retirement shows the biggest gap. Employers paid $5.04 an hour into retirement for union workers and $1.27 for nonunion workers. In goods-producing industries, which include construction, the figures were $6.55 and $1.24. Insurance cost $8.74 an hour for union workers and $3.25 for nonunion workers. On the IBEW and NECA side, NECA describes the National Electrical Benefit Fund as a defined benefit pension that its employers pay into at 3 percent of gross labor payroll.
How the gap varies by region
How common unions are depends heavily on the state. In 2025, the share of wage and salary workers who were union members was 24.8 percent in Hawaii, 21.3 percent in New York, 18.0 percent in Washington and 13.1 percent in Illinois. It was 4.9 percent in Texas, 2.7 percent in South Carolina, 2.5 percent in North Carolina and 2.3 percent in South Dakota. BLS warns that its 2025 state figures come from few observations, so treat them as rough.
Electrician pay roughly follows the same pattern. Median pay for electricians runs near $103,100 in Illinois and $98,600 in Washington, against about $58,800 in North Carolina and $60,600 in Texas. That shows the two move together. It does not prove unions cause the difference, because cost of living and construction demand also vary by state. Where union contractors are scarce, the more useful question is whether a local near you has steady work.
When does the answer change?
Your yearly earnings come from your rate times the hours you actually work. A higher scale with weeks of downtime between jobs can pay less over a year than a lower rate with steady hours. Overtime, travel work and the size of the shop all shift the result. When you compare offers, compare full-year earnings plus what the employer pays into health, retirement and training. Do not stop at the hourly rate.
Pay also varies a lot within each group. In every state the 75th percentile for electricians sits well above the median, and plenty of nonunion electricians earn in that upper band. Your specialty, your license level and your local market can matter as much as union status. The BLS medians describe typical workers. They do not tell you what one particular contractor will pay.
Pay
USD a year, before tax. Ranges run from the 25th to the 75th percentile. They come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025, adjusted to 2026 with a wage index, and the state figures are modeled. These figures cover all electricians and do not separate union from nonunion. The states shown are a mix of high and low union membership. Refer to the Electricians salary guide for figures from live adverts.
What you need
- Base hourly rateStart with this number, but it covers only part of the pay. BLS data puts the private-sector union wage edge near $5 an hour, much smaller than the benefit gap.
- Health insuranceFind out what the employer pays and what comes out of your check. Employers spent $8.74 an hour on insurance for union workers and $3.25 for nonunion workers in June 2026.
- Retirement plan typeAsk if it is a defined benefit pension, a defined contribution plan, or both, and how much the employer puts in each hour.
- Expected annual hoursMultiply the rate by the hours you can realistically expect in a year, including gaps between jobs and overtime.
- Training costsFind out who pays for apprenticeship schooling and continuing education, and whether you owe anything if you leave.
State by state
| New York | 21.3 percent of wage and salary workers were union members in 2025, among the highest rates in the country. Electrician median pay here is about $81,500. |
|---|---|
| Washington | 18.0 percent union membership in 2025. Electrician median pay is about $98,600, with the 75th percentile near $125,800. |
| Illinois | 13.1 percent union membership in 2025. Electrician median pay is about $103,100, one of the highest state figures. |
| Hawaii | 24.8 percent union membership in 2025, the highest of any state. Electrician median pay is about $99,900. |
| Texas | 4.9 percent union membership in 2025. Electrician median pay is about $60,600, and union contractors are a smaller share of the market. |
| North Carolina | 2.5 percent union membership in 2025, among the lowest. Electrician median pay is about $58,800. |
| South Carolina | 2.7 percent union membership in 2025. Electrician median pay is about $60,800. |
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Questions people ask
How much more do union construction workers make per week?
In 2025, BLS put full-time union members in construction and extraction occupations at a median of $1,561 a week. Nonunion workers in those jobs had a median of $1,004. That is about 55 percent more before benefits are counted.
Is the union advantage mostly wages or benefits?
Mostly benefits. In June 2026, private-sector union wages averaged $37.52 an hour against $32.41 for nonunion workers. Benefits averaged $25.54 against $13.08, so the benefit gap is more than twice the wage gap.
Does BLS publish union pay for electricians specifically?
No. The union earnings tables group electricians with other construction and extraction occupations. The OEWS wage data for electricians does not split by union status either. Any electrician-only figure has to come from a contract wage sheet or a separate survey.
Do union electricians get a pension?
Union electrical work under IBEW and NECA agreements includes the National Electrical Benefit Fund. NECA describes it as a defined benefit pension that employers pay into at 3 percent of gross labor payroll. Many local agreements add other retirement plans on top.
Why do the BLS figures overstate or understate the gap?
BLS says its union pay comparisons do not control for occupation, age, firm size or region. Union members tend to be older and more concentrated in higher-cost states, which can widen the raw gap. Self-employed electricians are excluded entirely.
Can a nonunion electrician out-earn a union electrician?
Yes. In every state the 75th percentile for electricians sits well above the median, and nonunion workers make up a large share of that upper band. Steady hours, overtime and specialized skills can push one person's yearly pay above a union scale with gaps between jobs.
Sources
- BLS: Union Members Summary, 2025
- BLS: Table 4, median weekly earnings by union affiliation, occupation and industry
- BLS: Table 3, union affiliation by occupation and industry
- BLS: Table 5, union affiliation by state
- BLS TED: Union membership rate 10.0 percent in 2025
- BLS: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026
- BLS: ECEC Table 5, private industry by bargaining status
- NECA: commonly used terms and acronyms (NEBF)
