Contractor Cost Guide · Electrical
EV Charger Installation Cost: Pricing a Level 2 Job
Run length and panel capacity decide this job, not the charger. Here is the circuit, the code that sizes it, the permit line, and the parts we could actually price.
Pricing the whole job? Estimate it from a photo in about 6 seconds.
EV charger installation cost is a circuit, not a box
Homeowners shop the charger. You sell the circuit that feeds it: a breaker, a wire run matched to the amperage and the distance, conduit, a receptacle or a hardwired tail, and a permit with an inspection.
SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo of the panel and the run into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds.
The code that sizes the circuit
Article 625 of the National Electrical Code governs this equipment. Four sections do the work, quoted from a municipal handout reproducing the 2017 edition.
625.40 gives each charging outlet its own branch circuit, with no other outlets on it. 625.42 calls charging a continuous load. 625.41 then sizes the protection at “not less than 125 percent of the maximum load of the equipment.” 625.43 wants a readily accessible disconnect above 60 amps.
That 125 percent rule is the whole sizing conversation. Multiply the rating by 1.25 and round up to the next standard breaker. A 32 amp unit needs 40, a 40 amp unit needs 50, a 48 amp unit needs 60. The disconnect rule keys off equipment rated more than 60 amps, not off the breaker.
What the parts cost
Two supply houses publish these. Elliott Electric lists the three Eaton breakers, Sutherlands the outlet and the conduit. Each figure is one supplier’s published list price, not a market average. Read September 14, 2026.
| Part | Catalog | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Eaton 50A two pole breaker | BR250 | $33.85 |
| Eaton 60A two pole breaker | BR260 | $35.03 |
| Eaton 100A two pole breaker | BR2100 | $127.43 |
| 50A RV/EV outlet panel, rainproof | PS-54-HR | $52.99 |
| 1/2 inch EMT, 10 foot stick | 101543 | $6.59 |
| 3/4 inch EMT, 10 foot stick | 101550 | $10.99 |
| 1-1/4 inch EMT, 10 foot stick | 101576 | $31.79 |
What we will not price
No supplier we reached publishes a price for a Level 2 charging unit that clears our sourcing bar, so this page prints none. Copper is the same story: Sutherlands lists the cable by name and gauge but shows no national figure, because wire prices at the branch.
Rebates and tax credits are not prices. Cite the source, not us.
Turn the scope into a priced job
SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Material and labor lines included. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.
Run length and panel capacity
Run length drives conduit, wire and labor together. At $10.99 a stick, a 60 foot run in 3/4 inch EMT takes six sticks, or $65.94 in conduit alone.
Panel capacity is the harder gate. The Tinley Park handout wants a load calculation sheet: panel size, existing load, proposed circuit, proving the panel has room.
No room means a panel upgrade, the single biggest adder on this job. The full breakdown lives in Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost.
Hardwired or a receptacle
A receptacle install lands on the rainproof 50 amp outlet panel above, at $52.99.
Hardwire anything rated above 40 amps. A 48 amp unit needs a 60 amp breaker, and a 50 amp receptacle cannot sit on a 60 amp circuit. Hardwire too wherever the unit must stay put. Above 60 amps, 625.43 also wants a readily accessible disconnect.
What the labor side pays
The federal occupation is Electricians, code 47-2111, covering 757,220 jobs in the May 2025 national table. The hourly mean is $34.37 and the median is $30.38. The quartiles run $23.76 and $40.36, with the 90th percentile at $52.17.
Those are wages an employer pays an employee. The federal survey skips the self employed, so none is a billed rate.
A worked example of EV charger installation cost
A 40 amp charger, 60 feet from the panel, in 3/4 inch EMT, on a panel with two free spaces.
Breaker $33.85, outlet $52.99, conduit $65.94. That is $152.78 in published parts, plus wire and fittings off your own counter price. Permit at the Denton minimum is $100. An 8 hour day at the 75th percentile hourly wage, $40.36, adds $322.88 in wages, before burden and margin.
Treat that as an illustration, not a quote.
Price a charger install in four steps
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Read the nameplate amps
The charger’s rating, not its kilowatts, is what sizes everything downstream.
-
Size the breaker at 125 percent
Multiply by 1.25 per 625.41, then take the next standard breaker size.
-
Measure the run, then the trade size
Walk it. Conduit and copper both scale with that distance, and so do your hours.
-
Do the load calculation before you quote
Panel size, existing load, proposed circuit. If there is no room, the job changes shape.
Keep reading
Sources
Code
- Village of Tinley Park Building Department, charging station permit guide (2017 NEC 625.40 to 625.43 plus the load calculation sheet; read 2026-09-14).
Parts prices read live
- Elliott Electric Supply, Eaton BR250 ($33.85; BR260 $35.03, BR2100 $127.43; read 2026-09-14).
- Sutherlands, 50-Amp Power Outlet, PS-54-HR ($52.99; read 2026-09-14).
- Sutherlands, 3/4 inch by 10 foot EMT conduit ($10.99; 1/2 inch $6.59, 1-1/4 inch $31.79; read 2026-09-14).
Permit and wages
- City of Denton, Texas, charger permit page (minimum $100, electrical permit plus a final inspection, service update inspection if applicable; read 2026-09-14).
- BLS OEWS national file, May 2025 (47-2111, series OEUN000000000000047211103; read 2026-09-14).
Product
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store (4.8 rating; verified 2026-09-09).
- Hero photo by BrokenSphere, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Common questions about EV charger installation cost
The circuit and the code
What size breaker does a Level 2 charger need?
Take the charger’s rated amps and multiply by 1.25, then round up. A 40 amp unit needs a 50 amp breaker. NEC 625.41 sets that, because 625.42 calls charging a continuous load.
Can the charger share a circuit with anything else?
No. NEC 625.40 gives each charging outlet its own individual branch circuit, with no other outlets on it.
Should it be hardwired or on a receptacle?
A 50 amp receptacle goes faster and lets the homeowner unplug the unit, but it tops out at a 40 amp charger. Hardwire anything rated above 40 amps, or wherever the unit must stay put. Above 60 amps NEC 625.43 also wants a readily accessible disconnect.
EV charger installation cost and permits
Why does this page not print an installed price?
Because no publisher we could reach states one that clears our sourcing bar. Run length and panel capacity decide it. We print the published parts and the permit, and leave the rest to your own numbers.
Can SimplyWise price an electrical job from a photo?
Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material and labor lines. Free to try, at $29.99/mo.
Turn the panel walk into a signed job.
Snap a photo and get an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Free to try.