Electrician Salary in Portland, ME: Median $74,197 in 2026
Portland (ME) · COL index 119 · Unemployment 3.0% · Metro pop 550,000 · Rank #48 of 283 for Electrician salary
A Electrician in Portland earns an estimated median of $74,197 per year. That figure starts from the Maine state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($61,081) and scales it by Portland's composite cost-of-living index of 119 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $57,603; the 90th percentile reaches $128,264. After federal, Maine state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Electrician takes home approximately $57,355/year — about $4,780/month or $2,206 every other week.
Compared to the national Electrician median of $62,350, Portland pays +19.0%. Relative to the Portland median household income of $72,600, a Electriciansalary runs +2.2%. Local unemployment is 3.0%[3], with an estimated 191 annual Electrician openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (775,700).
Electrician Snapshot — Portland (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Portland | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician median salary | $74,197 | $62,350 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $57,603 | $47,420 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $128,264 | $105,590 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $57,355 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $532,238 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $2,285/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $2,100/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $88,602 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 119.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0% | — | [3] |
How Electrician Salaries Work in Portland
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Maine state-level OEWS median ($61,081) and scaling by Portland's composite cost-of-living index (119)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and Maine state income tax at a 4.6% effective rate ($3,394/yr on the $74,197 median)[10].
Portland also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $88,602, which frames what "a good Electrician salary" means locally: a $$74,197 wage pays about 84% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Portland
Estimated annual expense shares on a $57,355 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Portland's COL index of 119. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Portland's COL index of 119[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,850/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Portland
Renting
Buying
At $4,780/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,434/mo. Portland's typical 1–2BR rent runs $2,285/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $2,100/mo), making rent affordable on a median Electrician salary. For homebuyers, the 6.5× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Portland Stacks Up for Electricians
Against 283 major US cities: Portland ranks #48 for nominal Electrician salary, #242 for rent affordability, and #236 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Portland's nominal wage premium. Electricians here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Electrician Salary Comparison
Portland's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs ME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland, ME ★ | $74,197 | 119 | $1,850 | — |
| Burlington, VT | $73,573 | 118 | $1,938 | -0.8% |
| Poughkeepsie, NY | $74,820 | 120 | $1,700 | +0.8% |
| Scottsdale, AZ | $73,573 | 118 | $2,100 | -0.8% |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | $73,573 | 118 | $2,100 | -0.8% |
| Bellingham, WA | $73,573 | 118 | $1,650 | -0.8% |
Electrician Job Market in Portland
Portland has an estimated 191 annual Electricianopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 775,700 national Electricians[1]. The 3.0% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Electricians install and maintain electrical systems in homes, businesses, and industrial facilities. Job prospects are strong due to construction growth and electrification trends. Typical entry requirement: apprenticeship / high school diploma. Projected growth through 2034: 11%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Portland
Early-career Electricians in Portland start around $57,603, reach the city median ($74,197) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($128,264) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Portland
Calculators for Electricians in Portland
Other professions in Portland
Frequently Asked Questions — Electrician in Portland
How much does a Electrician make in Portland, ME?
The estimated median salary for a Electrician in Portland is $74,197/year, scaled from the national median ($62,350) by Portland's composite cost-of-living index of 119 (US = 100). After federal, Maine state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $57,355/year or $4,780/month.
Can a Electrician afford to live in Portland?
On $4,780/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,434/month. Portland's Zillow ZORI median rent is $2,285/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $2,100/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 29.9%, making housing affordable for a Electrician at the local median. Home-buyers face 6.5× price-to-income, needing roughly 6.5 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Electrician pay in Portland?
On $74,197 gross, a Electrician in Portland pays approximately $7,772 in federal income tax (10.5% effective), $3,394 in Maine state income tax (4.6% effective), and $5,676 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 22.7%. Some Maine cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Portland rank for Electrician salaries vs other cities?
Portland ranks #48 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Electrician salary, #242 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #236 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Electrician in Portland?
On $57,355 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Portland looks like: housing $22,200/yr (38.7%); food $7,667/yr; transportation $6,171/yr; healthcare $4,244/yr; utilities $3,140/yr; savings + discretionary $13,933/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Portland's COL index of 119 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Electrician job market like in Portland?
Portland's unemployment rate is 3.0% across the metro of 550,000. Estimated annual Electrician openings: ~191 (extrapolated from 775,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Portland employers pay above or below the Maine median for Electricians?
Yes — Portland's estimated Electrician median of $74,197 is 19.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Portland median is derived from the Maine state-level BLS OEWS median ($61,081), scaled by Portland's composite cost-of-living index of 119. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Electricianmedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Maine's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 119index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 98.0(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Maine Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
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