Electrician Job Pricing Calculator: flat-rate with live wire prices
Flat-rate price for this electrical job
$398
- Romex 12/2 — 120 ft @ $0.43/ft (National median)
- $51.47
- Materials incl. 8% misc
- $147.38
- Labor — 3 hrs @ $41/hr burdened
- $123.00
- Loaded cost incl. 25% overhead
- $337.98
- Net profit at 15% margin
- $59.64
- Effective billed rate
- $133/hr
Margin is applied divide-style (price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)), so the margin you set is the margin you actually keep — the #1 flat-rate mistake is multiplying by (1 + margin) and keeping less than you think.
How this calculator works — the formula
wire cost = feet needed × (roll price ÷ 250)
price = ((devices + wire) × (1 + misc%) + hours × burdened rate) × (1 + overhead%) ÷ (1 − margin%)
Copper moves — which is why the wire price here carries a weekly verification stamp instead of a number someone typed into a blog post in 2021. Misc covers staples, wire nuts, plates, and box fill you won’t itemize.
This week’s prices: Romex 12/2 w/ ground, 250 ft roll
Tracked at Home Depot and Lowe’s store-level pages across 20 metros. Stamps advance only when a fresh check succeeds — methodology.
| Metro | Home Depot | Lowe’s | Week over week |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | $122.62 | $122.23 | ▼ $1.36 this week |
| Los Angeles, CA | $116.05 | $115.84 | ▼ $1.68 this week |
| Chicago, IL | $106.92 | $107.84 | ▲ $1.96 this week |
| Dallas, TX | $100.23 | $101.34 | ▼ $1.81 this week |
| Houston, TX | $99.21 | $99.32 | ▼ $0.99 this week |
| Phoenix, AZ | $104.18 | $103 | ▲ $1.11 this week |
| Philadelphia, PA | $108.85 | $111.88 | ▲ $1.12 this week |
| Atlanta, GA | $101.35 | $102.07 | ▼ $1.49 this week |
| Miami, FL | $108.92 | $109.71 | ▲ $0.47 this week |
| Boston, MA | $118.95 | $120.01 | ▼ $0.07 this week |
| San Francisco, CA | $119.01 | $120.34 | ▲ $0.37 this week |
| Detroit, MI | $104.02 | $101.97 | ▲ $0.72 this week |
| Seattle, WA | $113.48 | $114.99 | ▼ $0.35 this week |
| Minneapolis, MN | $106.28 | $105.49 | ▲ $0.10 this week |
| San Diego, CA | $116.89 | $114.13 | ▲ $0.32 this week |
| Tampa, FL | $105.31 | $103.22 | ▼ $0.77 this week |
| Denver, CO | $107.74 | $108.16 | ▲ $1.32 this week |
| St. Louis, MO | $97.69 | $100.05 | ▲ $0.37 this week |
| Baltimore, MD | $107.03 | $107.07 | ▲ $0.20 this week |
| Charlotte, NC | $101.04 | $98.90 | ▲ $0.60 this week |
| National median | $107.22 | ▲ $0.26 this week | |
Questions contractors actually ask
How much does Romex cost per foot right now?
As of Aug 24, 2026: about $0.43/ft, from a national median of $107.22 per 250 ft roll of 12/2 w/ ground. The metro table on this page has your local number; both re-verify weekly.
How do electricians price a circuit run?
Wire feet × verified per-foot price, plus breaker and devices, plus burdened hours for the run and termination, then overhead and margin. A 120 ft 20A circuit with $45 in devices and 3 burdened hours prices well north of what a wage-times-two guess produces — run it above.
What should an electrician charge per hour?
Billed rates typically run $85–$165/hr by metro. But flat-rate the common tasks: your speed on a panel swap should be your profit, not the customer's discount. Use the hourly rate calculator for the billed-rate floor.
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