Electrician Salary in Massachusetts (2026)

Electrician OT is structural to the comp model. Union scale at IBEW Local 103 (Boston) journeyman runs $58-72/hr (2026) plus benefits package; Local 96 (Worcester) journeyman $52-62/hr; Local 7 (Springfield) journeyman $48-58/hr. Time-and-a-half OT after 40 hr/week or after 8 hr/day depending on contract; double-time on Sundays + holidays in some agreements. Federal-clearance projects at Hanscom AFB / Natick / Lincoln Lab routinely require 50-60 hr/week to meet schedule, generating 400-800 OT hours/year — the supplemental $25-50K that pushes journeyman total comp from $105K base to $130-165K all-in.

The 2025 OBBBA law (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) created a federal-only deduction on the premium portion of overtime pay for tax years 2025-2028 — up to $12,500 single / $25,000 MFJ. Premium portion equals the half of time-and-a-half. For an MA Local 103 journeyman with 500 OT hrs/year × $62/hr regular rate = $31,000 total OT compensation, the premium half roughly $10,300 — which fully qualifies for OBBBA federal deduction at single filer up to the cap. Federal savings 22-24% bracket × $10,300 = $2,266-2,472/year federal back.

Massachusetts has not conformed to OBBBA. The OT premium is fully MA 5% taxable. For an MA journeyman: full $31,000 OT × 5% MA = $1,550 state tax on the OT compensation. The OBBBA federal deduction applies only to federal — the MA state tax stays. Net OBBBA benefit at MA Local 103 journeyman comp tier: $2,266-2,472/year federal (offset by ongoing MA state tax of $1,550 on OT — roughly $700-900/year true net benefit). MA's flat 5% (no local) makes the MA-side cost of OT lower than MD's combined 8.95% — at 5% MA OT cost on $10,300 premium = $515 vs MD's $824 at the same OT volume.

OBBBA phaseout: $100/$1K MAGI over $150K single / $300K MFJ. Most MA Local 103 journeymen ($105-148K total comp) stay below the threshold. Senior foremen + master electricians + federal-clearance journeymen at $148-185K may hit phaseout — partial deduction. MFJ filers with high-earner spouse most exposed. The MA-specific calculation: total comp = base + OT + per-diem + clearance premium + holiday + Cambridge biotech / GMP-cleanroom premium.

Real numbers for a Local 103 journeyman at $62/hr × 2,080 base hrs = $129K base + $28K OT (450 hrs × $62/hr OT premium) + $18K Cambridge biotech / GMP cleanroom premium + $4K per-diem = $179K total. MA effective 5.0% × $179K = $8,950/year state tax. OBBBA federal OT deduction $10,300 × 22% = $2,266 federal back. MA on the OT premium portion: $10,300 × 5% = $515/year — modest state cost despite federal benefit. Compared to TN (0% state): TN equivalent saves $8,950/year MA state tax — partially offset by Local 103 scale + Cambridge biotech + Hanscom clearance premium unavailable in TN.

IBEW NEBF (National Electrical Benefit Fund) pension is the dominant late-career lever. Defined-benefit pension accruing at hourly rate × years of service; multi-employer plan covering all participating IBEW locals. Plus IBEW Local 103 supplemental pension on top — Local 103 specifically funds an annuity contribution at $5-7/hr employer contribution. For a Local 103 journeyman with 30 years of IBEW service, combined NEBF + Local 103 pension typically reaches $5,500-8,500/month at age 65 ($66-102K/year). MA partially exempts public-sector pension income with age + income thresholds — IBEW NEBF as a multi-employer private union pension is treated differently than state Group 4; consult tax preparer. Federal taxes the full pension.

Many MA electricians retire to NH / FL / TN / SC / TX pre-distribution given the $2M MA estate cliff at the senior journeyman / master / contractor-owner asset tier. NEBF pension + Local 103 supplemental annuity + 401(k) accumulation + home equity (Boston metro $700K-$1M) often pushes senior electrician total estate above $2M — triggering MA estate exposure at 16% top. Pre-death NH relocation (1-hour drive from Boston, 30 min from MetroWest 495 corridor) is the most common pattern for Boston-area electricians. The $2M MA cliff drives substantially more relocation than MD's $5M cliff at the electrician asset tier.

MA electrician work clusters along the I-95 / 128 / I-93 / I-90 corridors. Local 103 (Boston + Eastern MA) covers Boston Logan Airport, MBTA modernization, downtown Boston commercial, Cambridge biotech + tech buildouts (Kendall Square Moderna / Vertex / Biogen / Takeda + Cambridge Crossing + Sea Port), MGH / Brigham / BIDMC / Children's hospital infrastructure. Local 96 (Worcester) covers UMass Memorial, central MA manufacturing, Worcester development. Local 223 (Brockton) covers South Shore + South Coast offshore wind landfall infrastructure. Local 7 (Springfield) covers MGM Springfield casino + western MA. Federal-clearance work at Hanscom AFB / Natick / Lincoln Lab / Mitre Bedford typically commutes from MetroWest 128 / 495 corridor (Lexington, Waltham, Acton, Concord, Bedford itself).

Housing on a journeyman base + OT income tier ($105-165K total comp): Worcester County (Worcester, Shrewsbury, Holden, Boylston) $400-650K · MetroWest 495 outer (Hopkinton, Marlborough, Westborough) $550-825K · South Shore (Quincy, Weymouth, Braintree) $550-825K · North Shore (Beverly, Salem, Peabody) $550-800K · Bristol County (Brockton, Taunton) $400-650K · Hampden County (Springfield, Chicopee, West Springfield) $300-525K. Local 103 federal-clearance journeyman + Cambridge biotech / GMP cleanroom comp ($179K total) can stretch into MetroWest 128 (Sudbury, Sherborn, Bedford) at $700K-$1.1M with spouse income.

Most MA electricians retire in-state on IBEW NEBF + Local 103 / 96 / 223 / 7 supplemental annuity + 401(k) accumulation. Some pre-death relocation to NH / FL / SC / TN for $2M+ asset bases (more common than MD given MA's $2M estate cliff vs MD's $5M). Common in-state retirement: stay in Worcester County / South Shore / North Shore, or Eastern MA Cape Cod (Barnstable, Falmouth) for waterfront. Some senior MA electricians retire to southern NH (Salem, Nashua, Manchester, Pelham, Hudson) keeping 30-60 min drive back to family + escaping MA $2M estate cliff entirely.

Years 0-5 (apprentice): $42-72K. IBEW Local 103 (Boston) or Local 96 (Worcester) or Local 223 (Brockton) or Local 7 (Springfield) JATC 5-year apprenticeship — combination of OJT (8,000 hrs total) + classroom (~900 hrs total). Pay scale steps through 5 years from 40% of journeyman to 100%. Decision point at year 3-4: federal-clearance track (security clearance application, ~12-18 months for TS, longer for TS/SCI) vs Cambridge biotech / GMP cleanroom specialty vs offshore wind specialty (GWO cert) vs commercial / industrial / specialty track. NEBF pension accruing from day 1.

Years 5-15 (journeyman / foreman / specialty): $78-165K total comp. Journeyman scale $58-72/hr at Local 103 + 400-800 OT hrs/year drives total comp $108-150K. Federal-clearance journeyman + TS/SCI premium reaches $148-185K total. Cambridge biotech / GMP cleanroom journeyman reaches $135-165K total. Foreman promotion at year 8-12 typical (~$5-10/hr foreman premium + crew lead bonus). Maxing IBEW 401(k) + supplemental annuity is the active-duty stack. OBBBA federal OT deduction on premium portion.

Years 15-30+ (master electrician / contractor-owner / retirement): $148-425K depending on track. Master electrician at $148-205K running multi-crew operations or service-manager role. Contractor-owner with MA electrical contractor license + 5-15 employees reaches $265-425K. Year 30 NEBF retirement decision: full DB pension (typically $66-102K/year at 30 years) + Local 103 supplemental annuity rollover. Pre-distribution relocation to NH / FL / SC common at master / contractor-owner tier given MA $2M estate cliff.