What Starting Pay to Expect as a Texas Electrical Apprentice, by Metro

Start your 7-day free trial Get the Texas Entry Kit (US$49)

Short answer: Published Texas apprentice starting rates include $16.25/hour at IEC Fort Worth, $17.33 at Houston JATC, $20.33 at North Texas JATC and $21.07 at Austin JATC. Each rate applies to that program, not every employer in its metro. Compare the wage schedule, qualifying hours, class requirements and benefits before treating a rate as your offer. For a closer look at the first year, compare first-year apprentice rates.

Where this fits on your electrician path

You are here: Electrical Apprentice · First year as an apprentice. Before: Texas apprentice license. Next: Log supervised hours.

Save your route and track your progress

Published first-year apprentice rates

Compare the exact program you are considering. These are published program rates, not a statewide minimum, a guaranteed job offer or a guarantee of weekly hours.

Program / area	Published starting pay	How pay advances	Dated basis / limits	Official source
Houston Electrical JATC	$17.33/hour	Raises after successful completion of each year	No effective date stated on the consulted FAQ	Program FAQ
North Texas Electrical JATC	$20.33/hour	Starts at 50% of the Journeyman rate; later steps reach 80%	March 1, 2026 Journeyman base: $40.65	FAQ; Applicant information
IEC Fort Worth	$16.25/hour	About each 1,000 OJT hours, with the related training requirements	This Fort Worth chapter rate is not a statewide IEC scale	Apprenticeship program
Austin JATC	$21.07/hour	Starts at 55% of the $38.30 Journeyman rate	Wage scale effective January 5, 2026	Apprentice program
South Texas Electrical JATC	$19.79/hour	Published electrical-apprentice year-two rate: $23.67	Electrical apprentice scale; do not substitute the separate technician scale	Program wage information
Beaumont Electrical Training Center	50% of the applicable Journeyman rate	Advancement depends on OJT and classroom progress; later steps reach 80%	Provider describes Journeyman pay as over $32/hour; confirm the current agreement	Apprentice wages and benefits

Program sources checked October 19, 2026. A source-check date is not the effective date of a wage agreement. Confirm the current rate and admission or employment terms with the program.

There is no single IEC pay scale established by this comparison. IEC Fort Worth publishes its own starting rate; ask your local chapter and hiring contractor for their written schedule.

For a 40-hour illustration: $17.33 × 40 = $693.20 gross per week; $20.33 × 40 = $813.20. These examples exclude overtime and do not calculate taxes, deductions, benefits or take-home pay.

Ask for the base rate, expected paid hours, next raise requirements, class schedule, tuition responsibility, benefit eligibility date, deductions and travel expectations in writing.

Use starting pay to narrow your local options

A starting rate is more useful when you know the work schedule and what triggers the next raise. Compare those details with the training route before applying. ET Member offers continuing beginner learning and job-search resources; the Texas Entry Kit provides downloadable application, test and interview preparation.

Create your free account

Related: Read training routes and first-year costs.

By Tsai Electro. Built from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published Texas apprenticeship wage scales; every source below shows the date we read it. Last reviewed October 3, 2026.

Part of Texas Electrician Exams: every Texas license step and exam in one place.

On this page

Two kinds of numbers

Federal wage data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). We use the May 2025 estimates for electrician helpers (code 47-3013) and electricians (code 47-2111). These are occupation-wide statistics, not a survey of first-year apprentice offers. A helper percentile or the lowest electrician percentile is not a promised starting rate.
Published program rates. Some apprenticeship programs post their first-year pay. They apply to the named programs and their stated terms. Confirm a current written offer rather than applying a rate to every contractor in the metro.

How to read a percentile: the 10th percentile is the pay that 10% of workers earn less than. The median is the middle.

Federal wage data by metro (May 2025)

Metro	Helpers: 10th percentile to median	Electricians: 10th to 25th percentile	Helpers employed	Electricians employed
Houston	$17.36 to $21.56	$18.66 to $22.71	1,810	19,730
Dallas-Fort Worth	$17.32 to $21.39	$18.63 to $22.85	2,200	20,930
Austin	Not published	$18.87 to $22.97	Not published	7,340
San Antonio	$15.34 to $19.55	$18.01 to $21.78	500	6,660
Texas statewide	$16.78 to $21.33	$18.23 to $22.44	7,320	76,770

Hourly pay. Metro means the federal metropolitan area. BLS does not publish Austin helper figures for this period (BLS OEWS, read through the BLS Public Data API).

The program-rate comparison is above the first offer section so you can check the starting wage before choosing a route.

What this means for you

Start with the written offer. Use its base rate and expected paid hours when comparing work options. BLS occupation percentiles are context, not a first-year pay promise.
Union pay is written down. Houston, North Texas, Austin, South Texas and Beaumont publish their steps, so you can see your raises in advance.
Benefits count too. Houston Electrical JATC says apprentices get the same health insurance and pensions as journeymen, with health insurance starting about five months after full-time work begins. North Texas Electrical JATC lists employer-paid health insurance, a pension and an annuity that starts in the second year (Houston, North Texas).
Ask every non-union employer what the starting rate is, when the first raise comes and whether it pays your class tuition.

For first-year costs (license, renewal, tuition and tools), see first-year costs for a Texas apprentice.

Next step on the Texas ladder

Starting your apprenticeship? Read these next.

Paid hours you work under a master electrician count toward the 8,000 hours a Texas Journeyman license requires. Track them in a free Tsai Electro account, along with your practice scores and an exam date plan.

FAQ

How much does an apprentice electrician make in Texas?

Published program starting rates include $16.25 per hour at IEC Fort Worth, $17.33 at Houston Electrical JATC, $20.33 at North Texas Electrical JATC and $21.07 at Austin JATC. These are program-specific rates checked October 19, 2026, not guaranteed offers for all Texas apprentices. Compare the current written wage schedule, expected hours and benefits.

What is the starting pay for a union electrical apprentice in Houston?

Houston Electrical JATC lists $17.33 an hour to start, with a raise after each year you complete.

What do electrical apprentices make in Dallas-Fort Worth?

North Texas Electrical JATC starts at $20.33 an hour, 50% of its $40.65 journeyman rate, and IEC Fort Worth lists $16.25 an hour, with raises tied to about every 1,000 OJT hours and training requirements.

Do Texas electrical apprentices get benefits?

Many union apprentices do. Houston Electrical JATC says apprentices get the same health insurance and pensions as journeymen, and North Texas Electrical JATC lists employer-paid health insurance, a pension and an annuity. Ask non-union employers directly.

How fast does apprentice pay go up in Texas?

Union scales rise by set steps. North Texas goes from 50% of the journeyman rate at the start to 80% in the last year, and South Texas goes from $19.79 to $23.67 in year two.

Is there one IEC pay scale for all of Texas in 2026?

No. Do not assume every Texas IEC apprenticeship uses the same wage scale. IEC Fort Worth lists starting pay of $16.25 per hour, with advancement tied to about 1,000 OJT hours and training requirements. Ask your local IEC chapter and hiring contractor for their current written wage schedule.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, series for metro areas 26420 (Houston), 19100 (Dallas-Fort Worth), 12420 (Austin), 41700 (San Antonio) and Texas, read through the BLS Public Data API, checked October 2026
Houston Electrical JATC: FAQ, checked October 2026
North Texas Electrical Training Center: FAQ and Applicant Information, checked October 2026
IEC Fort Worth: Apprenticeship Program, checked October 2026
Austin Electrical Training Alliance: Apprentice Program, checked October 2026
South Texas Electrical JATC, checked October 2026
Electrical Training Alliance of Southeast Texas: Wages and Benefits, checked October 2026

Starting your first year as a Texas apprentice? The US$19 Texas First-Year Electrical Apprentice Kit gives you printable pages for the first months on the job: a tool-check card, a who-to-ask list with a short stop-and-ask script, emergency-contact and heat-and-rest cards, plus a Tool budget sheet and a Tool inventory sheet (CSV).

Log your Texas Journeyman hours free. A free Tsai Electro account keeps your supervised hours, your online practice scores and your exam date in one place. Start with a five-question check to see which topic to practice next.

About Tsai Electro

Tsai, creator of Tsai Electro, holds Taiwan’s national Class B Indoor Wiring Technician certificate. He worked on site on the MEP side of a smart temperature-controlled logistics center at Taipei Port, on the second-phase campus of Jiufenzi Junior and Elementary School in Tainan, and on the Liugui Administrative Center in Kaohsiung. The Liugui project was honored at the 25th Public Construction Golden Quality Awards. He teaches career switchers on YouTube @tsai.electro.

He writes these Texas guides from the official TDLR pages and the PSI candidate bulletin, cites NEC articles by number only, and dates every source. Found an error? Tell us and we will correct it.