Electrical
Electrical outlet replacement cost
Replacing an electrical outlet is about $155 — the electrician's service-call minimum, because the swap itself is 18 minutes and a five-dollar part — and four on the same visit are $170. Adding a new outlet on an existing circuit is about $250; a new 120 V circuit $620; a 240 V outlet for a dryer $795 or an EV charger $940, sized to the appliance. And a replacement is not always like-for-like: near water it becomes a GFCI, and a two-prong outlet needs a GFCI or a ground wire, not just a third hole.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-25 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Electrical outlet replacement cost calculator
Swap, add, or a new circuit
Replacing is minutes and a service call. Adding is the wire’s path. A new circuit — 120 or 240 V — is the breaker and the run.
The same box, a new receptacle. Minutes each; the service call is most of the bill.
On one visit.
Tamper-resistant is required either way.
Not in this room.
An electrician.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
4 outlets — replace existing outlets
$170
$43 each · about 18 minutes each
The service call is the bill
4 receptacles at $5 and a few minutes each, inside a service-call minimum of about $150. Every outlet in the house on one visit is the cheapest way to do it.
Not always like-for-like
A replacement has to meet today’s protection.
Where the code now wants it, a replaced receptacle must provide it: GFCI near water, in garages and outside; arc-fault protection in most living spaces; tamper-resistant everywhere. In a kitchen or bathroom that makes the swap a GFCI — priced on its own page.
Six outlet jobs
From one swap to a 240 V circuit, by an electrician.
What the electrician charges for
- 4 × standard tamper-resistant receptacles
The same box, a new receptacle. Minutes each; the service call is most of the bill.$20 - The electrician
About 18 minutes an outlet.$114 - Up to the service-call minimum
An electrician's service call: the trip and the first half hour.$36
What it costs
National average. 4 outlets, replace existing outlets. Not included: a panel upgrade, drywall painting after fishing, or the appliance itself.
Outlets near water are GFCIs — on the GFCI page; a panel without room for a new circuit, on the panel page; wire sizes by amps and distance, on the wire size calculator.
Worth knowing
- A receptacle swap is about 18 minutes: 4 of them is 72 minutes of work, and the electrician's minimum of about $150 covers the first several. Save them up — every outlet in the house on one visit.
- A replacement is not always like-for-like. Where the code now wants protection — GFCI near water, in garages and outside; arc-fault in most living spaces; tamper-resistant everywhere — the new device has to provide it. In a kitchen, bathroom, laundry or outside, that is a GFCI, on the GFCI page.
On this page — 4 sections
The service call is the bill
The short version
- One outlet: $155; four: $170. The minimum is most of it.
- Adding one on a circuit: $250. A new circuit: $620.
- 240 V: $795 for a dryer, $940 for an EV charger.
- Two-prong outlets: a GFCI each, not a three-prong swap.
A receptacle swap is about 18 minutes of work and a five-dollar part. The electrician’s service call — the trip and the first half hour, about $150 — is most of what one costs, which is why one outlet is $155 and four are $170. The cheapest way to change outlets is all of them on one visit.
$155
One outlet
The minimum
$170
Four outlets
Same visit
$250
Add one
On an existing circuit
$795
240 V dryer outlet
30 A, 30 ft
MaterialsEstimator, Electrical outlet replacement and installation price survey · checked 2026-09-25
Not always like-for-like
Replacing a receptacle brings it up to today’s protection where the code now requires it. Near water, in garages and outside, the replacement is a GFCI. On circuits in most living spaces, arc-fault protection — usually an AFCI breaker at the panel that covers every outlet on the circuit. Everywhere, tamper-resistant receptacles. And a two-slot outlet cannot become a three-slot one without a ground: the code’s fix is a GFCI labelled No Equipment Ground.
| GFCI, No Equipment Ground | Run a ground wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Six two-prong outlets | $600 | $1,500 |
| Protects people from shock | Yes | With a GFCI too, yes |
| Grounds surge protectors and equipment | No | Yes |
| Code-compliant | Yes, labelled | Yes |
National Fire Protection Association, NEC 210.12 — Arc-fault circuit-interrupter protection; 406.12 — tamper-resistant receptacles; 406.4(D) — replacements (2023) · checked 2026-09-25
National Fire Protection Association, NEC 210.8 — Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel, and 406.4(D) — replacement receptacles (2023) · checked 2026-09-23
Adding an outlet, or a circuit
A new outlet on an existing circuit is a cut-in box and cable fished through the wall from the nearest outlet on that circuit. If the circuit already trips, or the outlet is for something that should have its own — a freezer, a microwave, a window air conditioner — it is a new circuit: a breaker, 12-gauge cable along the route and a receptacle, with a permit. A 240 V outlet is the same with a double-pole breaker and heavier copper sized to the appliance.
| New circuit | Breaker | Copper | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 V, 30 ft | 20 A | 12 AWG | $620 |
| Dryer, 30 ft | 30 A | 10 AWG | $795 |
| Range, 40 ft | 50 A | 6 AWG | $940 |
| EV charger, 40 ft | 60 A | 6 AWG | $940 |
Finished walls, permit included. The panel needs the spaces and the capacity.
National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 70, National Electrical Code — Article 310, Conductors for General Wiring (2023) · checked 2026-09-21
What goes wrong
Before the electrician comes
- Every outlet to change listed, for one visit.
- Tested with a plug-in tester: open grounds, reversed polarity.
- Kitchen, bath, laundry, garage and outdoor outlets flagged: GFCI.
- The nearest outlet to a new one, and whether its circuit trips.
- For 240 V, the appliance's amps and the panel's free spaces.
01A three-prong receptacle on a two-wire circuit
The third slot connects to nothing and pretends to be a ground.
Instead — A GFCI labelled No Equipment Ground, or a ground wire.
02Push-in (backstab) connections
They loosen and heat up over time.
Instead — Wires under the side screws.
03One outlet per visit
Each visit pays the $150 minimum.
Instead — All of them together.
04A new outlet on a loaded circuit
It trips the first time something big runs.
Instead — A new circuit.
05240 V wire undersized for the appliance
It overheats under load.
Instead — The gauge the breaker requires.
06Working live
A 120 V shock can kill.
Instead — Breaker off, tested dead, every time.
- 01Count the outletsEvery one you want changed, so they go on one visit.
- 02Test themA plug-in tester shows open grounds and reversed wiring; two-slot outlets are ungrounded.
- 03Note where they areNear water, in garages and outside they become GFCIs; in living spaces the circuit may need AFCI.
- 04For a new outlet, find the nearest oneOn a circuit with room, a new outlet is fished from it; otherwise it is a new circuit.
- 05For 240 V, read the applianceIts amps set the breaker and the wire; the panel needs two spaces and the capacity.
- 06Ask about the permitNew circuits and 240 V work are permitted and inspected in most places.
Kitchen, bathroom, laundry, garage and outdoor outlets are GFCIs — and one GFCI protects every outlet downstream of it.
Outlets near water- Receptacle
- The trade's word for an outlet: the device in the box that plugs go into.
- Tamper-resistant (TR)
- A receptacle with shutters behind the slots that open only for a two-pronged plug. Required in dwellings.
- GFCI
- Ground-fault circuit interrupter: trips when current leaks to ground, protecting people from shock. Required near water, in garages, outside.
- AFCI
- Arc-fault circuit interrupter: trips on the arcing that starts wiring fires. Required on most living-space circuits.
- Service call
- The electrician's minimum for coming out — the trip and the first half hour. Most of the price of a single swap.
- Cut-in box
- An electrical box that mounts in a hole cut in finished drywall, for adding an outlet without opening the wall.
- Fishing
- Pulling cable through a finished wall or ceiling from one opening to another.
- Double-pole breaker
- A breaker that takes two spaces in the panel and feeds a 240 V circuit.
- Wire gauge (AWG)
- Copper size: 12 for 20 A, 10 for 30 A, 6 for 50–60 A. Smaller numbers are bigger wire.
- No Equipment Ground
- The label on a GFCI installed on a two-prong circuit: shock-safe, but with no ground for equipment.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to replace an electrical outlet?
- About $155 for one, which is the electrician's service-call minimum, and $170 for four on the same visit — each is about 18 minutes and a $5 tamper-resistant receptacle. Ten USB outlets are $585. Yourself, four standard receptacles are about $20.
- How much does it cost to add an electrical outlet?
- About $250 to add one on an existing circuit in a finished wall — a cut-in box and cable fished from a nearby outlet — and less where the wall is open. If the circuit is already loaded, the new outlet needs a new circuit: about $620 with a 30 ft run and a permit.
- How much does a 240 V outlet cost to install?
- About $795 for a 30 A dryer outlet with 30 ft of 10-gauge cable, $940 for a 50 A range with 40 ft of 6-gauge, and $940 for a Level 2 EV charger on a 60 A circuit. The appliance's amps set the breaker and the wire, and the panel needs two free spaces and the capacity — if it does not, it becomes a panel upgrade.
- How much is a 220 V outlet?
- The same thing: 220, 230 and 240 V outlets are the same circuit. About $795 for a dryer and $940 for a range, installed with a permit.
- Can I replace a two-prong outlet with a three-prong one?
- Not by itself — without a ground wire the third slot is connected to nothing. The code allows a GFCI in the old box, labelled No Equipment Ground: about $100 each, $600 for six. Running a ground wire back to the panel gives a true three-prong outlet: about $250 each, $1,500 for six.
- Why is one outlet as expensive as four?
- Because the electrician's minimum — about $150 — covers the trip and the first half hour, and a swap takes 18 minutes. Save outlets up and do them together.
- Does a replacement outlet have to be a GFCI?
- Where the code now requires GFCI protection — kitchens, bathrooms, laundry, garages, outdoors, near any sink — yes: a replacement has to provide it. Arc-fault protection and tamper-resistant receptacles likewise apply where required. The GFCI page prices those.
- Can I replace an outlet myself?
- Many people do: the breaker off and the outlet tested dead, the wires moved one at a time to the new receptacle's screws, a tamper-resistant device. New circuits and 240 V work are for a licensed electrician and a permit in most places.
- How much do USB and smart outlets cost?
- About $30 for a USB receptacle and $45 for a smart one, installed in the same few minutes as a standard one: ten USB outlets are $585 with the labour.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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