What Electricians earn in Baltimore County, MD
According to the latest federal wage data for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area, the median pay for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD is $65,590 a year, or $31.53 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $51,911 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Baltimore County, MD.
The mean wage is $72,790, which is 11.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 6,930 people working in this occupation across the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Baltimore County, MD has roughly 850,796 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Electricians in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $45,390 a year ($21.82 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $113,090 or more ($54.37 an hour). That is a gap of $67,700 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $56,080 at the 25th percentile and $91,930 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD is $31.53. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $65,590, and the same salary is $5,466 a month before taxes or about $2,523 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $24.96 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Electricians
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Electricians this way: "Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Assemble, install, test, or maintain electrical or electronic wiring, equipment, appliances, apparatus, or fixtures, using hand tools or power tools"; "Diagnose malfunctioning systems, apparatus, or components, using test equipment and hand tools to locate the cause of a breakdown and correct the problem"; "Connect wires to circuit breakers, transformers, or other components"; "Inspect electrical systems, equipment, or components to identify hazards, defects, or the need for adjustment or repair, and to ensure compliance with codes".
Job outlook for Electricians
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 821,000 jobs in 2025 to 896,900 in 2035, a change of +9.2%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 72,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.9% of current employment each year. About 7.1% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: apprenticeship. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $63,190 for this occupation; the Baltimore County, MD median of $65,590 is 3.8% above it.
How pay in Baltimore County, MD compares
Compared with the Maryland average
The local median of $65,590 sits below the Maryland employment-weighted average of $72,875. The shortfall is $7,285 a year, or 10.0%, so Baltimore County, MD is a lower-paying market for this job than the state as a whole. Within Maryland, the highest median we track for this job is $75,930 in Montgomery County, MD.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Electricians is $68,975 across the contiguous United States. At $65,590, Baltimore County, MD pays $3,385 less, which is 4.9% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Baltimore County, MD
Among the 552 occupations with published wages in Baltimore County, MD, Electricians ranks number 262 by median pay, ahead of about 53% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $168,520 a year, which is $102,930 more than the median for Electricians.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $65,590 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $13,679 a year, which leaves $51,911, or $4,326 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $21 goes to taxes and $79 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $49,840. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $5,879, an effective 9.0% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,067 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $951. FICA totals $5,018, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Maryland
Maryland income tax on this salary is $2,783 a year, or 4.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 47% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $232 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Baltimore County, MD
IRS Statistics of Income data for Baltimore County, MD show an average adjusted gross income of $95,693 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.6% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.4%, compared with the 9.0% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Baltimore County, MD
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Baltimore County, MD: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $51,911 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Baltimore County, MD is $1,625 a month, or $19,500 a year. A two-bedroom costs $2,006 a month. For Electricians, a one-bedroom absorbs 37.6% of take-home pay and 29.7% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.2% of gross pay for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Maryland residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,887 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $634, for $2,521 in total. Gasoline in Maryland averages $3.33 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,539.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $26,996 a year, 52% of take-home pay. That leaves $24,915 a year, or $2,076 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 38.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Baltimore County, MD
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Baltimore County, MD: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Baltimore County, MD, set beside the Maryland and national medians.
Property taxes in Baltimore County, MD
Homeowners in Baltimore County, MD pay a median of $3,736 a year in real estate taxes, 9% below the Maryland median of $4,093 and 20% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $349,300, the median tax bill is 1.07% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Electricians median of $65,590, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.7% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Baltimore County, MD
Renters in Baltimore County, MD pay a median gross rent of $1,627 a month in the Census survey, 5% below the Maryland median of $1,705. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,625 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $349,300, 17% below the Maryland median of $419,900. Median household income is $91,768, 11% below the Maryland median of $103,678, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.2% of that income.
Commuting in Baltimore County, MD
Workers in Baltimore County, MD who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.0 minutes each way, 10% below the Maryland average of 31.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.7 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 16.5% of workers in Baltimore County, MD work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Electricians afford to live in Baltimore County, MD?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $65,590 that ceiling is $1,640 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,625 is $15 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.25 an hour; the median for Electricians is $31.53, which is 1% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $24.96 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 15.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,006 a month means $1,003 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,464 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $32,379.
How fast you can save
At $2,076 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 5 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 10 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Electricians pay in Baltimore County, MD
What is the hourly wage for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD?
The median is $31.53 per hour, based on $65,590 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $21.82 at the 10th percentile to $54.37 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $65,590 becomes $51,911 a year. That is $4,326 a month, $1,997 every two weeks or $998 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD?
Total taxes are $13,679 a year, an effective rate of 20.9%: $5,879 federal income tax, $5,018 FICA and $2,783 Maryland income tax.
Is pay for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD above the Maryland average?
No. The local median of $65,590 is -10.0% versus the Maryland average of $72,875, a difference of $7,285 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Electricians salary in Baltimore County, MD?
A one-bedroom costs $1,625 a month against take-home pay of $4,326, which is 37.6% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,640 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Electricians in Baltimore County, MD?
About $2,076 a month ($24,915 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,996 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Baltimore County, MD at the 30% guideline?
$31.25 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,500 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Electricians is $31.53.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Maryland rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.