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Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025

Electrician Salary in Detroit, MI

Trades · SOC 47-2111 · COL Index 95.1

Electricians in Detroit, MI earn a median salary of $81,990 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $46,660 to $107,330. The mean is $79,240 across approximately 11,210 workers. Adjusted for Detroit, MI's cost-of-living index of 95.1, the median equates to $86,215 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.

Electrician in Detroit, MI pays modestly above the national median: $81,990 versus $69,189 nationally, roughly 19% above.

Cost-of-living in Detroit, MI sits near the national baseline (index 95.1), so the unadjusted $81,990 median is reasonably comparable to wages in other near-baseline cities. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $60,792, $81,990, $94,660, $107,330. 11,210 Electrician workers are documented in Detroit, MI per the BLS OEWS survey. The percentile spread is the most useful framing — entry-level pay clusters near p25, mid-career near p50, senior-level near p75-p90.

$81,990
Median Salary
$79,240
Mean Salary
$86,215
COL-Adjusted
11,210
Employment

Salary Distribution

Percentile Breakdown

PercentileSalaryCOL-Adjusted
10th Percentile (Entry Level)$46,660$49,064
25th Percentile$60,792$63,924
50th Percentile (Median)$81,990$86,215
75th Percentile$94,660$99,537
90th Percentile (Top Earners)$107,330$112,860

What These Numbers Tell You

The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Electricians in Detroit, MI is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 2.3× the 10th-percentile worker. That is typical for a professional role with standard career progression: experience, scope, and employer size all matter, but the spread is not so extreme that the role bifurcates into separate sub-markets.

Detroit, MI's cost-of-living index of 95.1 sits close to the U.S. average — $81,990 here has roughly the same purchasing power as the same salary in the typical U.S. metro. That makes this market a clean baseline for comparing offers across cities.

Detroit, MI ranks #7 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Electrician pay — in the top quartile nationally (top 10%). Markets in this band tend to be major regional employer hubs even when they are not the absolute highest-cost cities.

How to Use This in Negotiation

The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $94,660 for Electricians in Detroit, MI — when you have meaningful experience, then bring evidence (years on the job, scope of past work, relevant certifications, comparable offers) to justify why you sit at that point in the distribution. Anchoring on the median when you have 5+ years of experience leaves money on the table; anchoring on the 90th percentile ($107,330) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.

For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($60,792$81,990) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($81,990$94,660) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($94,660$107,330).

For specific scripts and a full negotiation framework, see the data-driven salary negotiation guide. To benchmark your current pay, the salary percentile calculator places any number into the BLS distribution for this role and metro.

How This Salary Is Calculated

Wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a federal survey of about 1.2 million U.S. establishments, published once per year by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. The Detroit, MI percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 47-2111 in this MSA. The COL-adjusted figure rebases salary to a U.S. national average COL of 100, using a composite index derived from public housing, food, and transportation data. Read the full methodology for details.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average Electrician salary in Detroit, MI?

Electricians in Detroit, MI earn a median salary of $81,990 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $79,240 across roughly 11,210 workers in this metro.

What is the salary range for Electricians in Detroit, MI?

Pay ranges from $46,660 at the 10th percentile to $107,330 at the 90th percentile — a $60,670 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($60,792 to $94,660) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.

Is $81,990 a good Electrician salary in Detroit, MI?

$81,990 is the BLS median — half of Electricians in Detroit, MI earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($60,792), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($94,660). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $86,215.

How does Electrician pay in Detroit, MI compare to other metros?

Detroit, MI ranks #7 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Electrician median pay. It sits in the top quartile of U.S. metros for this role.

Where does this Electrician salary data come from?

Every wage figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — public domain federal data covering 1.2 million U.S. employers. The same data feeds the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage system used for H-1B and federal contracting wage determinations.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Detroit, MI MSA, SOC 47-2111, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."

Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 11,210 Electricians tracked in Detroit, MI.