Electrical contractor sales potential continues to increase across many key metropolitan areas across the United States, buoyed by a steady increase in electrical contractor employment.
According to electrical employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at www.bls.gov, on a national basis, electrical contractor employment averaged 1.1  million employees from March-May 2026, and has not dropped below 1 million since attaining that lofty level since April 2022.
On a national basis, Electrical Marketing estimates electrical contractor sales potential hit roughly $94.2 billion through May, a +1.7% increase over May 2025.  Several Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) trounced that national figure with double-digit increases in their estimated electrical contractor potential: Baton Rouge, LA (+13.1%); Idaho Falls, ID (+11.2%); St. Louis, MO-IL (+10.5%); and Las Cruces, NM (+10.4%).
When measured by estimated YOY increases in electrical contractor sales dollars, there were some clear leaders (see chart below). Leading all MSAs was the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA with a $113 million YOY increase to approximately $2.9 billion in estimated electrical contractor sales potential. Other metros in the lead pack included St. Louis (+$88.7 million); Baton Rouge (+$70.3 million); Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (+$61.9 million); Austin-Round Rock, TX (+$52.9 million); and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (+$50.3 million).
On the flip side, some of the nation’s largest metros in terms of electrical contractor sales potential saw rather dramatic decreases. The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, MSA saw a -1.7% decline of roughly -$69.6 million to approximately $4.1 billion, and contractor sales potential in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, MSA decline -2.4% YOY (-$66.6 million) to $2.7 billion.
Some important housekeeping notes on Electrical Marketing’s sales estimates. They were developed with an updated sales-per-employee multiplier of $83, 572 per electrical contractor employee and 2025-2026 employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase takes into account the dramatic increase in product pricing, particularly for wire and cable, which typically accounts for roughly 15% of sales through electrical distributors. Electrical Marketing’s editors may increase this figure again later in the year to take into account how data centers, utility grid revitalization and other high-dollar megaprojects have injected additional sales potential into the electrical market.