⚡ Built for Electrical Contractors

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Enter your revenue, labor, materials, and overhead. Get your gross and net profit margin — with benchmarks specific to electrical contractors. Built for electricians who want to know where they actually stand.

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2026 industry benchmarks
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Electrical Benchmarks at a Glance

What healthy electrical contractors actually run — for service work, commercial, and new construction.

  • ▲
    Net Profit Margin
    15–25% healthy · <8% warning sign
  • ▲
    Gross Margin
    40–50% on jobs · 50–60% residential service
  • ●
    Labor as % of Revenue
    28–38% healthy range
  • ●
    Materials as % of Revenue
    18–28% healthy range
  • ✓
    Overhead Target
    18–24% of revenue

Calculate Your Electrical Margins

Electricians and electrical contractors. Annual or monthly view.

Total billings — resi, commercial, maintenance
$
Wages, payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits
$
Wire, panels, conduit, fixtures, tools, supplies
$
Insurance, vehicles, shop, software, admin
$

Net Profit Margin

—

— per year

Healthy Electrical benchmark

15%+
Gross Margin
—
—
Operating Margin
—
—
Net Profit Margin
—
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What This Means for Your Electrical Business
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🏛️

Licensed & Insured

Every electrical shop needs $1M+ liability and workers' comp. It's the baseline for getting a job — and keeping it.

📊

Job Cost Tracking

Healthy shops track actual vs. estimated hours on every project. It's how you catch unbilled time before it's gone.

⚡

Change Order Capture

10–15% of change order revenue never gets collected. Having a process for COs is worth $15–30K/year on a $1M commercial book.

🔧

Labor Utilization

If your crew averages 7+ effective work hours per day (not clock hours), you're running efficiently. Under 6 means margin is leaking.

Electrical Contractor Financial Benchmarks (2026)

Use these numbers to benchmark where you stand — and identify where you have room to improve.

Metric Healthy Range Concern Level Red Flag
Net Profit Margin 15–25% 8–15% <8%
Gross Margin (job-level) 40–50% 30–40% <30%
Labor as % of Revenue 28–38% 38–45% >45%
Materials as % of Revenue 18–28% 28–35% >35%
Overhead as % of Revenue 18–24% 24–28% >28%
Residential Service Mix 40–70% of revenue 25–40% <25%

The $650K electrical shop at 15% net margin: Gross profit of $325K (50% gross margin) minus $85K overhead = $240K operating profit. After taxes, approximately $175K net profit. That's $175K building business equity vs. $55K at 8% net margin. The 7-point difference is worth $120K/year — and comes from overhead discipline, change order capture, and labor utilization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good profit margin for an electrical contractor? +
A healthy electrical contractor runs 15–25% net profit margin, with 35–50% gross margin on jobs. Residential service shops with lean overhead often hit 20–25% net. Commercial and industrial shops typically run 10–18% net due to higher overhead and longer project cycles. Below 8% is a warning sign — review your job pricing, labor utilization, and overhead structure. Below 5% and you're essentially trading hours for wages.
What is the average gross margin for electrical contractors? +
Electrical contractors typically run 35–50% gross margin depending on their mix. Residential service calls: 50–60% gross margin (high labor component, controlled material costs). New construction: 35–45% (material-heavy, labor efficiency dependent). Commercial maintenance: 40–50%. Below 30% gross margin usually means material markup is too low or labor efficiency on the job site is poor.
What are the biggest profit margin killers for electrical contractors? +
Four patterns hurt most electrical shops: (1) Unbilled time — techs running over on job hours with no revenue offset; (2) Change order slippage — 10–15% of change order revenue never gets collected because the field didn't document the work; (3) Workers' comp spikes — a rate increase from $2.50 to $3.50 per $100 of payroll adds ~$30K in overhead on $2M in labor; (4) Permit and inspection delays — a 1-week delay on a $100K commercial job can absorb $5–10K in labor with no revenue offset. Track actual vs. estimated time per project weekly.
How should an electrical contractor price to hit 20% net margin? +
Target 40–50% gross margin on jobs and keep overhead at or below 22% of revenue — and you'll land around 20% net margin. Rule of thumb: for every $1 of revenue, keep 45–50 cents after direct costs (labor + materials + equipment), and keep overhead to 22 cents. That leaves 20–25 cents of net. If your overhead runs above 28% of revenue, you need either higher average project values or better field labor utilization.
What is a good EMR (experience modification rate) for an electrical contractor? +
An EMR below 1.0 means you're safer than average for your classification. Below 0.80 is excellent. Below 0.70 is elite. Each 0.10 drop in EMR saves roughly 10–15% on your workers' comp premium at scale. On a $200K annual premium, that's $20–30K/year. Strong return-to-work programs, regular safety meetings, and keeping minor injuries off formal claims are the practical paths to a lower EMR.

Track your electrical margins automatically, every week.

MarginProfitIQ pulls your revenue, job costs, and overhead from your existing data — and calculates your gross, operating, and net margins automatically. No manual entry. No spreadsheets.

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