IBEW Local 595 pay scale (Bay Area)
Journeyman inside wiremen under IBEW Local 595 in Alameda County (East Bay), CA are paid $76.00 an hour in base wages plus $50.52 an hour in employer-paid fringe, a total package of $126.52, under the CA DIR determination ALA-2026-1, Inside Wireman effective August 22, 2025. The apprenticeship runs 5 years over 10 pay periods, starting at 40% of journeyman base. The Bay Area carries two credible anchors: this page's point figures ride the conservative IBEW Local 595 rate, and IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco, CA pays $92.50 base, shown as the top of the range.
Key figures
- Journeyman base
- $76.00 an hour [CA DIR]
- Employer fringe
- $50.52 an hour [same record]
- Total package
- $126.52 an hour
- Annual base at 2,000 hours
- $152,000 ($253,040 with package) [2,000 hours is an assumption]
- Agreement in effect
- August 22, 2025 to May 31, 2026 [CA DIR determination ALA-2026-1, Inside Wireman]
- Apprentice ladder
- 10 periods, 60 months (5 years) [CA DIR]
- License
- 8,000 hours, $175 in fees (CA) [CA DIR]
Journeyman wage
| Local | Base | Fringe | Package | Annual base (2,000 hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBEW Local 595 Alameda County (East Bay), CA | $76.00 | $50.52 | $126.52 | $152,000 |
| IBEW Local 6 San Francisco, CA | $92.50 | $50.52 | $143.02 | $185,000 |
CA DIR, CA DIR prevailing wage determination ALA-2026-1, Inside Wireman, Alameda County (IBEW Local 595), basic hourly rate $76.00 (conservative .... Fringe from the same record.
Apprentice pay ladder
| Period | Months | Percent of base | Hourly | Full year at this step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBEW Local 595 period 1 | 6 | 40% | $30.40 | $60,800 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 2 | 6 | 42.5% | $32.30 | $64,600 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 3 | 6 | 45% | $34.20 | $68,400 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 4 | 6 | 50% | $38.00 | $76,000 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 5 | 6 | 55% | $41.80 | $83,600 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 6 | 6 | 60% | $45.60 | $91,200 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 7 | 6 | 65% | $49.40 | $98,800 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 8 | 6 | 70% | $53.20 | $106,400 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 9 | 6 | 75% | $57.00 | $114,000 |
| IBEW Local 595 period 10 | 6 | 80% | $60.80 | $121,600 |
CA DIR, apprentice wage schedule, effective August 22, 2025.
Pay by apprentice year
A year that straddles two periods is blended by the month, so this is what a first-year or third-year apprentice banks before overtime. The rate at any single step is in the ladder above.
| Apprentice year | Blended percent of base | Cash wages |
|---|---|---|
| IBEW Local 595 apprentice year 1 | 41.3% | $62,700 |
| IBEW Local 595 apprentice year 2 | 47.5% | $72,200 |
| IBEW Local 595 apprentice year 3 | 57.5% | $87,400 |
| IBEW Local 595 apprentice year 4 | 67.5% | $102,600 |
| IBEW Local 595 apprentice year 5 | 77.5% | $117,800 |
Non-union market range
The union figure above is a contract rate. For contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 survey of all electrician employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA metro area reports these hourly percentiles, union and open-shop combined.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual (2,000 hrs) |
|---|---|---|
| Bay Area electricians, 10th percentile | $26.62 | $53,240 |
| Bay Area electricians, 25th percentile | $33.70 | $67,400 |
| Bay Area electricians, 50th (median) percentile | $44.63 | $89,260 |
| Bay Area electricians, 75th percentile | $62.63 | $125,260 |
| Bay Area electricians, 90th percentile | $87.66 | $175,320 |
BLS OEWS 2025, via the public data API.
License and time to journeyman
The state requires 8,000 supervised hours before the journeyman exam, and the exam and application fees total $175. The apprenticeship itself sets the clock here: the ladder runs 60 months, longer than the 8,000 hours the license asks for.
CA General Electrician certification (DIR Electrician Certification Unit): 8,000 OJT hours under a C-10 contractor (CCR Title 8 sec 291.1), then a certification exam. Cost $175 = $75 application + $100 exam (fee schedule eff 2019-01-24). Renewal $100 every 3 years + 2,000 work hrs + 32 hrs CE. Two routes (state-approved apprenticeship or trainee/experience), same exam. Source: https://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ECU/ElectricalTrade_Fees.html
What the switch costs in Bay Area, from a desk job
Enter your current salary. The table shows cash wages only, year by year, against staying put. Benefits are listed separately and never enter break-even, and the business-ownership line is a scenario range, so neither can hide the real cash hole.
- Deepest hole
- cumulative cash, by year
- Break-even
- on cash wages against staying put
- Journeyman base
The line items break-even leaves out
| Licensing and exam fees (year 1, counted in break-even) | |
| Benefits against your current coverage (per year; outside break-even); ; | |
| Year | Stay | Switch (cash) | Costs | Difference | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Break-even and the hole ride cash wages plus one-time licensing only. Union rates are prevailing-wage or wage-sheet figures at 2,000 paid hours a year, which is an assumption; actual hours vary. See the methodology page for the per-number audit trail. Methodology.
Related
- IBEW Local 103 pay scale (Boston) $66.86 base, $112.61 package
- IBEW Local 3 pay scale (New York City) $64.00 base, $129.24 package
- IBEW Local 46 pay scale (Seattle) $76.95 base, $111.96 package
- Electrician apprentice pay by year all four ladders side by side
- Journeyman electrician salary by metro base, fringe and package compared
- How long it takes to become an electrician ladder and license timelines
- Methodology where each number comes from
Questions people ask
- What does a first-year apprentice at IBEW Local 595 make?
- About $62,700 in cash wages over the first year, blended across the 40% and 42.5% steps, at 2,000 paid hours. Health coverage starts on day one; the local pension ramps in later.
- How much does a IBEW Local 595 journeyman make a year?
- $152,000 in base wages at 2,000 hours, or $253,040 counting the employer-paid package. Overtime, foreman rates and travel are on top and are not in that figure.
- How long is the IBEW Local 595 apprenticeship?
- 60 months across 10 pay periods, which is 5 years at full-time hours. The state requires 8,000 supervised hours before the journeyman exam, and the exam and application fees total $175. The apprenticeship itself sets the clock here: the ladder runs 60 months, longer than the 8,000 hours the license asks for.
- Is it worth switching from a $110,000 desk job to an electrician in Bay Area?
- With a six-month wait to get in and 3% raises at the desk job, the switch is -$147,280 behind on cash wages by year 5 and does not break even inside 15 years at the conservative anchor, before benefits and before any overtime. That is a valid result. Run your own salary in the calculator above.