electricians

How Much Does an Electrician Cost in Illinois? (2026 Price Guide)

Illinois electricians charge $65 to $175 per hour in 2026 depending on location. See Chicago, suburban, and downstate prices for panels, EV chargers, and rewiring.

How Much Does an Electrician Cost in Illinois? (2026 Price Guide)

Illinois is two electrical markets in one state. In Chicago, a licensed electrician charges $110 to $175 per hour, every circuit runs in metal conduit, and permit fees and union labor push prices well above national averages.

Two hundred miles south in Springfield, Champaign, or Carbondale, rates drop to $65 to $100 per hour, Romex is allowed, and the same panel upgrade costs a third less. Knowing which market you are in is the first step to reading a quote.

The suburbs sit in between and vary block by block. Naperville, Evanston, Oak Park, and Schaumburg each have their own electrical codes, permit fees, and licensing rules, and several of them follow Chicago's conduit requirement even though state law does not require it. An electrician quoting in DuPage County may price the same job differently than one in Will County because the rules changed at the county line.

This guide covers what electrical work costs across Illinois in 2026, why Chicago is so much more expensive, what typical jobs run in the collar counties and downstate, and how the state's patchwork of local licensing affects who you can hire and what they charge. Figures throughout are approximate and depend on the contractor and the condition of your home.

Why Chicago Electrical Work Costs More

Chicago's electrical code requires nearly all residential wiring to run in metal conduit, usually EMT, rather than the plastic-sheathed cable used in most of the country. Bending, cutting, and pulling wire through conduit takes two to three times longer than stapling Romex, and the material costs more. A new circuit that costs $300 in Peoria can cost $700 to $900 in Lincoln Park for that reason alone.

Labor rates are the second factor. Much of Chicago's residential electrical work is done by IBEW Local 134 electricians, whose wage and benefit package is among the highest in the country. Non-union contractors exist and charge less, but the city's licensing requirement for a supervising electrician and the conduit rule keep even non-union pricing high.

Permits add to it. A City of Chicago electrical permit for a residential panel replacement runs several hundred dollars, and the Department of Buildings process takes longer than suburban permit offices.

Contractors build that time into their overhead. A 200-amp service upgrade in Chicago proper typically costs $3,500 to $7,000 in 2026, compared to $2,200 to $4,000 in most of downstate Illinois.

Chicago Bungalows and Two-Flats

The city's housing includes tens of thousands of brick bungalows from the 1920s and two-flats and three-flats from the same era. Many still have original conduit and cloth-insulated wire, 60-amp fuse panels, and one or two outlets per room.

Rewiring a 1,400-square-foot bungalow in Portage Park or Beverly runs $15,000 to $30,000 because every new run has to be in conduit fished through plaster and brick. A two-flat with separate meters costs more.

What Jobs Cost in the Suburbs and Collar Counties

The collar counties split the difference between Chicago and downstate. Licensed electricians in DuPage, Lake, Kane, and Will counties charge roughly $90 to $135 per hour, with service call fees of $110 to $200. Some municipalities follow the Chicago conduit rule, including Evanston, Oak Park, and several near-west suburbs, while others like Naperville, Aurora, and Joliet allow Romex in residential work.

That distinction changes prices. A Level 2 EV charger install runs $900 to $1,800 in a Romex suburb like Plainfield and $1,300 to $2,600 in a conduit suburb like Evanston.

A new 20-amp kitchen circuit runs $300 to $600 with cable and $500 to $950 in conduit. Ask your electrician which code your town follows, since it affects everything.

Panel upgrades in the suburbs typically run $2,600 to $5,000 for 200 amps. ComEd handles the utility side, and their scheduling for a meter pull and reconnect can add days to the timeline but usually not cost. Whole-house surge protection runs $350 to $650 installed, and it is worth adding during any panel work given the frequency of summer storms across northern Illinois.

Downstate Illinois Pricing

South of Interstate 80, Illinois electrical pricing looks like the rest of the Midwest. Licensed electricians in Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Rockford, and the Metro East suburbs of St. Louis charge $65 to $100 per hour.

Service call fees run $75 to $140. Ameren Illinois serves most of this territory and its meter-pull process is straightforward.

A 200-amp panel upgrade downstate typically costs $2,000 to $3,800. A new 120-volt circuit runs $225 to $500.

A ceiling fan swap costs $125 to $300. A whole-house rewire of a 1,500-square-foot home built before 1950 runs $8,000 to $16,000, which is roughly half the Chicago price for equivalent square footage.

Rural travel is the main upward pressure downstate. An electrician based in Effingham serving a farmhouse 40 minutes away may add a trip charge or quote a higher minimum. Farm wiring itself, including grain bin circuits, outbuilding subpanels, and long underground feeders, is priced by the foot and can add up quickly on large properties.

How Illinois Licensing Affects Who You Can Hire

Illinois does not issue a statewide electrician license. Licensing happens at the municipal level, and the City of Chicago's supervising electrician license is the most widely recognized.

Most suburbs and downstate cities either issue their own license or accept a Chicago license or another municipality's license through reciprocity. Some rural areas have no licensing requirement at all.

For you, this means asking two questions: what license does the electrician hold, and does the town where you live recognize it? A contractor licensed in Rockford may not be able to pull a permit in Naperville without registering there. Established contractors handle this routinely, but it is worth confirming before you sign.

Permit costs vary with the town. Chicago is the most expensive. Suburbs typically charge $75 to $250 for a residential electrical permit.

Downstate cities charge $40 to $150, and some unincorporated county areas charge nothing and inspect nothing. A quote that omits the permit fee in a town that requires one is a quote from someone planning to skip inspection.

Where Illinois Homeowners Can Save

Bundle your work. Service call fees in Illinois are high enough that combining three small jobs into one visit saves $150 to $300 compared to three separate calls. Most electricians will quote a package price when you list everything up front.

Schedule off-season. Electricians across Illinois are busiest from April through October and after any major storm. January and February are slower, and non-urgent work like a basement subpanel or a garage circuit may come in 10% to 15% lower during those months.

Ask about non-union options in Chicago if the job is small. For a fixture swap or a single new outlet, a licensed non-union contractor can save a meaningful amount.

For a full rewire or service upgrade, the price gap narrows because conduit work is slow regardless of who does it. More on hiring and pricing trades across the state is on our home services blog, and the electricians in our directory can be sorted by city and county.

Generator and Backup Power Costs

Derechos, ice storms, and summer thunderstorms knock out ComEd and Ameren service across Illinois every year, and generator work has become a steady line of business for electricians statewide. Installing a manual transfer switch or interlock for a portable generator runs $700 to $1,500 in most of the state and $1,000 to $2,200 in Chicago and the conduit suburbs.

Standby generator installations cost more. The electrical side, including an automatic transfer switch and the connection to the panel, runs $1,800 to $4,500 depending on location and panel access.

The generator unit adds $5,000 to $12,000, and a plumber or gas fitter charges separately for the natural gas or propane line. Total installed costs for a whole-house standby system in the Chicago suburbs commonly land between $10,000 and $18,000.

Battery backup is starting to compete with generators in Illinois, helped by state incentives for solar and storage. Expect $12,000 to $20,000 installed for a single battery with a backup panel, more for multiple units. An electrician who has installed both can walk you through the tradeoffs for your house.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a panel upgrade in Chicago so much more expensive than in Springfield?

Conduit requirements, higher labor rates, and higher permit fees combine to roughly double the cost. A 200-amp upgrade runs $3,500 to $7,000 in Chicago and $2,000 to $3,800 in Springfield. The work itself is similar, but the time and materials in Chicago are not.

Does my suburb require conduit?

Some do. Evanston, Oak Park, Cicero, and several other near suburbs follow Chicago's conduit rule.

Naperville, Aurora, Schaumburg, Joliet, and most outer suburbs allow Romex in residential construction. Call your village building department or ask your electrician, who will know from experience.

How much does it cost to rewire a Chicago bungalow?

A full rewire of a 1,200 to 1,500-square-foot bungalow in Chicago typically runs $15,000 to $30,000 in 2026. Partial rewires that replace the panel and add circuits to the kitchen and bathrooms while leaving bedroom circuits in place can bring it down to $7,000 to $14,000.

What does an electrician charge per hour in Rockford or Peoria?

Licensed electricians in Rockford, Peoria, and similar downstate cities charge $65 to $100 per hour in 2026, with service call fees of $75 to $140. Emergency and weekend rates run 1.5 to 2 times higher.

Can I hire a downstate electrician to work on my Chicago home to save money?

Only if they hold a Chicago supervising electrician license or work under a contractor who does. The city will not issue a permit otherwise. Some downstate contractors hold Chicago licenses, but the conduit requirement means their pricing in the city will still be higher than at home.