Electrical Panel Replacement Cost (200-Amp)
Modeled $1,269 typical, $738–$2,617 depending on the part and how long the job takes. This job is permitted work. A permit and at least one inspection are required, priced by your local building department, and the utility may need to disconnect the service. Those costs are real and are not in the figures above, because they are set locally and we will not invent a national number for them. Every figure here is built from the model below, not an average we were told.
What the quote is actually made of
This is the part no cost guide shows you, and it is what lets you read your own quote. Replace a 200-amp residential load center, at a modeled electrician shop rate of $95/hour billed:
| Line | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor (6.0–16.0 h at $95/h billed) | $573 | $859 | $1,528 |
| Part, as billed (1.5–3.0× retail) | $165 | $410 | $1,089 |
| Total | $738 | $1,269 | $2,617 |
The part at retail: 200-amp load centers run $109.96-$363.00 (median $205 across 39 listings) - Square D, Siemens, GE, Leviton, ABB. Breakers are billed separately and add up across 20-30 circuits. A permit and inspection are required and priced by your jurisdiction, and if the utility has to disconnect and reconnect the service that is scheduled around their availability, not the electrician's. (Amazon listings, read 2026-09-17) You are not being cheated because a contractor bills more than the retail price — stocking, warranty and return risk are real. A quote far above this range is worth a question, not an accusation.
How long the work takes
Pull a permit, coordinate the utility disconnect, remove the old panel, mount and land the new one, re-terminate and label every circuit, then wait for inspection. The high end covers aluminum branch wiring, a panel in a finished wall, or circuits that fail inspection and need repair before sign-off. We model 6.0–16.0 hours, typically 9.0. This is the model's weakest input. Wages are published; hours per job are not, in any authoritative public form. If you do this work and our hours are wrong, tell us on the corrections page and we will change them — the model version stamped on this page moves when they do, and the change is logged there.
Does where you live change it?
Yes, materially. This job is mostly labor, so it tracks the local wage directly — about 63% between the lowest- and highest-wage metros below. Find yours rather than reading a national average.
| Metro | Median electrician wage | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $37.99 | $1,436 | $849–$2,913 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $35.49 | $1,368 | $804–$2,793 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $49.21 | $1,739 | $1,051–$3,451 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $28.37 | $1,176 | $676–$2,451 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $28.45 | $1,178 | $677–$2,455 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $36.50 | $1,396 | $822–$2,841 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $35.86 | $1,378 | $810–$2,810 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $28.19 | $1,171 | $672–$2,442 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $29.43 | $1,205 | $695–$2,502 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $28.20 | $1,171 | $673–$2,443 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $38.42 | $1,447 | $857–$2,933 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $48.93 | $1,731 | $1,046–$3,438 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $30.36 | $1,230 | $711–$2,546 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $27.62 | $1,156 | $662–$2,415 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $39.42 | $1,474 | $875–$2,981 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $24.43 | $1,070 | $605–$2,262 |
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, release oesm25ma, occupation 47-2111 (Electricians), 390 metro areas.
How to read your quote
- Ask what the part is and what it costs. A model number lets you check the retail price yourself in a minute.
- Ask whether the permit, inspection and any utility coordination are in the price. This is a common gap between two quotes that otherwise look the same.
- Ask how many hours are billed. Flat-rate pricing is normal and legitimate; it should still be explainable.
- Get a second quote if the number is more than double this range. That is a question about scope — often there is a second failed part, or the tech is quoting a replacement rather than a repair.
The model
total = ( hours × shop rate ) + ( part retail × markup ), where shop rate = local BLS wage × 3.0.
A shop's billed rate is not the tradesperson's wage. BLS reports what electricians are paid — a national median of
$31.83/hour. Shops bill payroll tax, insurance, vehicle, dispatch, warranty, overhead and profit on top of it.
Our 3.0× puts the national figure at $95/hour, inside the
$75–$150/hour that industry pricing guides report for residential trade service (fieldedge.com, housecallpro.com, invoiceowl.com). Like the hours, that
multiplier is an assumption, and it moves with evidence.
Model version trades-v3-2026-09, as of 2026-09-17.
It is a modeled estimate, not a quote: the actual price turns on what failed, what else is failing, and what your contractor's overhead really is.
How we build cost figures →