Electrical Cost Per Square Foot
by Building Type (2026)

Residential electrical cost per square foot

For residential new construction in 2026, rough-in only — meaning wire, boxes, panel, and no devices or fixtures — runs $2–$4 per square foot. That number covers pulling cable from panel to box locations, installing the panel itself, and roughing in outlets and switch locations, but nothing you can see after drywall goes up.

A full install that includes rough-in, trim-out, and fixtures runs $4–$9/SF. The spread within that range is significant: builder-grade work on a straightforward production house typically lands $3–$5/SF, a mid-range project with better fixtures and more circuits comes in around $5–$7/SF, and a high-end custom home with recessed lighting throughout, a large service, and smart-home wiring can push $8–$12/SF or higher.

Labor alone generally accounts for $2–$5/SF of the residential install total, depending on whether journeyman or apprentice hours dominate the job and what the prevailing rate is in your market. Material — wire, panels, devices, fixtures — makes up the remainder. On a basic build, materials and labor are roughly equal; on a high-end job, materials often outpace labor cost.

Commercial electrical cost per square foot

Commercial new-construction wiring runs $7–$15/SF in 2026 for typical office, retail, and light industrial work. That range assumes standard conduit wiring methods, a normal fixture density for the occupancy type, and a basic low-voltage package. Tenant fit-out of existing shell space follows a similar band — $5–$15/SF — but the low end assumes an existing service is in place and the scope is trim and devices only.

Higher-density occupancies push well past the standard range. Data centers, healthcare facilities, and laboratory buildings regularly exceed $20/SF once you account for redundant panels, UPS circuits, high-density receptacle clusters, and the labor hours that conduit in a clinical or data environment demands. These building types are not candidates for a simple $/SF budget; they require a full device-and-circuit takeoff from the drawings.

It is also worth noting what the commercial $/SF benchmark excludes: switchgear, generators, and primary service work are typically priced separately and not folded into the per-square-foot number unless a contractor specifically scopes them that way. When comparing bids, confirm whether service entrance work is in or out — it is one of the most common sources of scope gap in commercial electrical pricing.

What drives the $/SF spread

Device and fixture count per square foot is the single biggest swing factor in electrical $/SF. A warehouse might have one receptacle circuit per 400 square feet; a restaurant kitchen might have one per 20. Everything else being equal, a space with four times the device density will run close to four times the electrical cost per square foot, because wire runs, box count, and labor hours all scale with devices.

Copper prices are the other major variable in 2026. Romex (NM cable) ranges from roughly $0.50 to $3.00 per linear foot before installation, depending on wire gauge and conductor count. Since early 2025, copper wire prices have risen 14–17% due to a combination of tariff increases on copper imports and supply chain pressure from global demand. That increase flows directly into material costs on every bid — residential or commercial — and is a meaningful reason why $/SF benchmarks from 2023 or 2024 understate current pricing.

Wiring method also matters, particularly on commercial work. Conduit wiring — required in most commercial and industrial occupancies — adds significant labor hours compared to cable wiring used in residential work. A journeyman can pull NM cable through a framed wall quickly; bending, running, and pulling through conduit is a different labor equation. Commercial $/SF is higher partly for this reason, independent of fixture density.

• Device and fixture count per SF — the dominant cost driver
• Copper wire prices up 14–17% since early 2025 from tariffs and supply pressure
• Romex (NM cable): $0.50–$3.00/LF before install, depending on gauge
• Conduit vs. cable method — conduit adds substantial labor on commercial jobs

Converting $/SF into a real takeoff

Per-square-foot benchmarks are Class 5 estimates under AACE International classification, meaning they carry an accuracy range of roughly -50% to +100%. They are appropriate for program budgeting, owner feasibility studies, and sanity-checking a number before drawings exist. They are not appropriate for a submitted bid, and using them as a substitute for a detailed takeoff is one of the most common ways electrical contractors lose money on a job.

A detailed electrical bid requires device counts pulled from the floor plan, home-run lengths measured from each device location back to the panel, and a panel schedule review to confirm circuit count and breaker sizing. Wire footage follows a predictable formula: conduit footage plus 2–3 feet at panels for termination, plus 6–12 inches per device, multiplied by the number of conductors per circuit. That math cannot be done from square footage alone.

One step that causes errors on measured takeoffs: verify the drawing scale before measuring any home-run length. A PDF that has been resized for printing or a scan taken at a non-standard DPI will produce footage errors that compound across every circuit. Pilars reads the scale block from the drawing and calibrates measurements automatically, which eliminates the most common source of systematic error in digital takeoffs.

• Use $/SF only for conceptual or Class 5 estimates (AACE: -50% to +100% accuracy)
• Detailed bids need device counts, home-run lengths, and panel schedules
• Wire footage formula: conduit run + 2–3 ft at panels + 6–12 in per device, times conductors per circuit
• Always verify drawing scale before measuring home-run lengths

Questions estimators actually ask