Most and least expensive cities for EV charger install cost factors
Short answer: Of 40 U.S. cities with both a published permit fee and a BLS electrician median wage, Oakland ranks most expensive (permit $402.97, $44.63/hr) and San Antonio least expensive (permit $57.50, $27.41/hr). This ranks local cost factors, not total install prices, which we only have as a national range.
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Five most expensive
Oakland (permit $402.97, electrician median $44.63/hr); San Francisco (permit $223.20, electrician median $44.63/hr); Portland (permit $174.00, electrician median $50.53/hr); Detroit (permit $176.00, electrician median $39.42/hr); Chicago (permit $150.00, electrician median $49.21/hr).
Five least expensive
San Antonio (permit $57.50, electrician median $27.41/hr); Memphis (permit $30.00, electrician median $29.27/hr); Charlotte (permit $62.70, electrician median $28.41/hr); Jacksonville (permit $104.00, electrician median $28.02/hr); Salt Lake City (permit $59.00, electrician median $30.11/hr).
Full ranking
Rank 1 = least expensive. Fee rank and wage rank run from 1 (lowest) to 40; ties share a rank. See the methodology.
Cities not ranked (10)
- San Jose, CA: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Denver, CO: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Phoenix, AZ: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Sacramento, CA: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Richmond, VA: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Baltimore, MD: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Philadelphia, PA: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Pittsburgh, PA: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Fort Worth, TX: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
- Orlando, FL: permit fee is a valuation formula, not a fixed amount
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Bars: BLS OEWS May 2025 electrician median hourly wage. Permit: published EV or electrical permit fee (accessed 2026-10-25). Rank = average of fee rank and wage rank. Source and method: ChargerCostByCity cost-factor ranking.
Data accessed 2026-10-25. Wages: U.S. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (electricians, SOC 47-2111), per-metro series (accessed 2026-10-25); per-city links in the table. Permit fees: permit fee index.
Which city is the most expensive for an EV charger install?
On local cost factors, Oakland: permit $402.97 and electrician median wage $44.63/hr. We have no city-specific total install price.
Which city is the cheapest?
San Antonio: permit $57.50 and $27.41/hr.
Why are some cities missing?
10 cities lack a fixed permit fee or a BLS median wage on our site, so they can't be ranked without guessing.