Cost to Run a 240V Line in 2026: Price Per Foot by Wire Gauge, With Worked Examples
What the cable actually costs at the counter, what the labor adds, and why a short 240V run is the most expensive wiring per foot in the house
By Munir Afridi · Updated October 2026 · 13 min read
Quick answer
Running a new 240V line costs $250 to $900 installed for a typical 20 to 50 foot run inside a finished house. A 30A dryer or small air conditioner circuit lands near the bottom of that range, a 50A EV charger circuit near the top or just above it. Figure roughly $3.00 to $4.00 per foot for the cable itself at October 2026 retail prices, $18 for a standard 2-pole breaker, and 3 to 5 hours of labor at $50 to $130 an hour. The thing most quotes surprise people with is that the per-foot cost falls sharply as the run gets longer, because the breaker, the permit and the trip charge are the same whether you pull 10 feet of cable or 60.
Size the wire for your 240V run →
Work the quote in three pieces: the wire size calculator for the gauge, the voltage drop calculator if the run is long, and the electrician rate calculator for the labor block.
Cost per foot to run electrical line, by wire gauge
This is the table worth bookmarking, because it is the part of the job you can price yourself before anyone comes out. Every cable price below was pulled from Home Depot listings on October 14 2026, and the ampacity column is the 60 degree C column of NEC Table 310.16, which is the column NEC 334.80 requires you to use for NM-B cable no matter what the conductor insulation is rated for.
| Cable | Breaker it supports | Typical 240V load | Cable cost per foot (coil) | Cost per foot (short cut) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2 NM-B | 20A | Baseboard heater, small well pump | about $0.90 | about $1.40 |
| 10/3 NM-B | 30A | Electric dryer, small AC, 24A EV charger | $3.12 ($156 / 50 ft) | n/a |
| 8/3 NM-B | 40A | Electric range, 32A EV charger, small welder | $3.00 ($375 / 125 ft) | $6.16 ($154 / 25 ft) |
| 6/3 NM-B | 50A | 50A EV charger, large range, hot tub, welder | $3.80 ($1,900 / 500 ft) $3.97 ($496 / 125 ft) | $5.38 ($269 / 50 ft) $8.53 ($128 / 15 ft) |
| 4/3 NM-B | 70A | Sub-panel feed, shop welder | $10.81 ($1,351.86 / 125 ft) | n/a |
Cable prices: Home Depot online listings for Southwire and Cerrowire NM-B, checked October 14 2026, except 4/3 which is an Elliott Electric distributor reel price. The 12/2 figure is approximate. Ampacity per NEC Table 310.16 at 60 degrees C as required by NEC 334.80, with NEC 240.4(D) capping 12 AWG at 20A and 10 AWG at 30A. Local store prices vary.
Two things in that table are worth sitting with. The first is that the jump from 6 gauge to 4 gauge nearly triples the price per foot, which is why electricians fight hard to keep a run at 50A or below, and why a 60A or 70A feed to a detached garage is usually pulled as individual THHN conductors in conduit instead of as NM-B cable. The second is the short-cut penalty in the last column. Buying 15 feet of 6/3 costs $8.53 a foot while a 500 foot reel of the identical cable costs $3.80 a foot. If you are doing the work yourself and you are anywhere near a coil breakpoint, buying the next coil up and having leftovers is often cheaper than buying the exact length you need.
How much to run a 240V line: what the whole job costs
Cable is the part people price first and it is almost never the biggest number. Here is a 40 foot run from the panel, broken into every line an electrician would actually bill, using October 2026 material prices and the journeyman rate of $50 to $70 an hour that HomeGuide published on February 11 2026.
| Line item | 30A dryer (10/3) | 40A range (8/3) | 50A EV charger (6/3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable, 40 ft | $125 | $120 | $159 |
| 2-pole breaker (standard) | $18 | $18 | $18 |
| Receptacle and box | $20 | $20 | $20 |
| Labor at $60/hr | $240 (4 hr) | $270 (4.5 hr) | $300 (5 hr) |
| Permit | $100 | $100 | $100 |
| Total | $503 | $528 | $597 |
| Effective cost per foot | $12.58 | $13.20 | $14.93 |
Those totals sit comfortably inside the $250 to $900 that HomeGuide quotes for a dedicated circuit, and the $250 to $800 that both HomeGuide and Inch Calculator quote for an installed 240V outlet. If a bid comes back at $1,400 for a simple garage run with an open path, ask what is in it that is not in the table above. If it comes back at $180, the contractor has probably not included the permit, or is not pulling one.
Why does the cost per foot drop on longer runs?
Search results love to quote a single cost per foot to run electrical line, usually $6 to $10. That number is real but it describes something different from what most people are asking about. It comes from rewire and new construction work, where an electrician pulls hundreds of feet of 14/2 and 12/2 in one visit and the fixed costs spread across the whole house. A one-off 240V circuit has the same breaker, the same permit, the same trip charge and the same one hour minimum whether the cable run is 10 feet or 60, so the shorter the run, the worse the per-foot number looks.
Here is the same 50A EV charger circuit at five different lengths, using the 6/3 NM-B price of $3.97 a foot and holding the fixed costs steady at $18 for the breaker, $20 for the receptacle, $100 for the permit and a 2 hour base labor charge, with an extra hour for every 25 feet of run.
| Run length | Cable | Labor | Fixed costs | Total | Per foot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | $40 | $144 (2.4 hr) | $138 | $322 | $32.20 |
| 25 ft | $99 | $180 (3 hr) | $138 | $417 | $16.68 |
| 50 ft | $199 | $240 (4 hr) | $138 | $577 | $11.54 |
| 100 ft | $397 | $360 (6 hr) | $138 | $895 | $8.95 |
| 150 ft | $596 | $480 (8 hr) | $138 | $1,214 | $8.09 |
At 150 feet the effective cost per foot has converged on the published $6 to $10 figure, which is a good sign that both numbers are describing reality from different ends. The practical takeaway: if you are already paying someone to come out and open the panel, adding length is the cheapest part of the job. If you think you might want a second 240V circuit in the same area within a few years, pulling both now while the panel is open and the permit is paid saves most of the fixed cost on the second one.
Note that past about 100 feet, voltage drop starts deciding the wire size instead of ampacity. The worked example further down shows how to check that, and the voltage drop calculator does it for your exact numbers.
How much does it cost to run a 220 volt line?
Exactly the same as a 240 volt line, because they are the same circuit with two different names. ANSI C84.1, the American National Standard for electric power systems and equipment voltage ratings, lists 120/240 volts as the standard nominal system voltage for single phase three wire residential service. The current edition is ANSI C84.1-2020, approved March 10 2020, which superseded the 2016 edition.
The 220 and 230 labels are leftovers. North American distribution voltage crept upward over the last century, and appliance nameplates, trade habits and the way people talk never caught up. You will still see a dryer stamped 220V, a motor plate reading 230V, and an electrician calling all of it a 220 line. None of it changes the wire, the breaker, the receptacle or the price. If a contractor quotes a 220V line and a 240V line as different jobs at different prices, that is a sign to get another quote.
How much does it cost to convert 120V to 240V?
This is the question behind a lot of searches, and the honest answer is that conversion is not a thing you can buy. A 240 volt load needs two hot conductors landed on opposite legs of the panel bus. An existing 120 volt circuit has one hot, one neutral and a ground. There is no device that doubles the voltage of a circuit that is already in the wall, so what people call conversion is really just running a new 2-pole circuit, and it costs the same $250 to $900 as any other new 240V line.
The old cable is usually not reusable either. Most 120 volt branch circuits are wired in 14/2 or 12/2, which NEC 240.4(D) limits to 15A and 20A, and the appliance you want to run almost certainly needs 30A, 40A or 50A. There is one narrow exception worth knowing: a dedicated 20A 120 volt circuit wired in 12/2, with nothing else on it, can be re-identified and relanded on a 2-pole 20A breaker to feed a small 240 volt load such as an electric baseboard heater. The white conductor has to be permanently re-identified as an ungrounded conductor at both ends, and the circuit has to actually be dedicated. If anything else shares that cable, the answer is no.
Before you plan any of this, check whether the panel has room. The electrical load calculator runs the service calculation, and the breaker size calculator confirms the breaker for the appliance you are adding.
Does a 240V outlet need a GFCI breaker in 2026?
This is where quotes go sideways, and it is worth understanding before you compare two bids. The 2020 NEC rewrote 210.8(A) so that GFCI protection applies to all receptacles rated 125 volts through 250 volts supplied by single phase branch circuits rated 150 volts or less to ground, in the dwelling unit locations the section lists. The old wording covered only 125 volt, 15 and 20 amp receptacles.
In plain terms, that pulled the 240 volt dryer receptacle in a laundry room and the 240 volt range receptacle in a kitchen into GFCI scope in jurisdictions on the 2020 NEC or later. The price difference is not small. At Home Depot on October 14 2026, a Square D Homeline 50A 2-pole breaker was $18.24. The matching 50A 2-pole GFCI version was $173.36. That is a $155 swing on a single line item, on a job whose total might be $500.
| Breaker | Price, Oct 14 2026 | When it is required |
|---|---|---|
| Square D Homeline 50A 2-pole, standard | $18.24 | Default where no GFCI rule applies |
| Square D Homeline 50A 2-pole GFCI | $173.36 | Receptacles in NEC 210.8(A) locations on 2020 NEC and later; outdoor spa and hot tub circuits under NEC Article 680 |
Whether it applies to your job depends entirely on which NEC edition your jurisdiction has adopted and what local amendments ride on top of it. Code adoption is uneven and the published trackers disagree with each other, so the only reliable answer comes from your local authority having jurisdiction. Ask the question before you accept a bid, because a contractor who priced a standard breaker and then gets told at inspection to fit a GFCI will come back for the difference.
Which would be the best choice for controlling one 240V load?
A two pole device: a double pole switch, or a double pole circuit breaker. The reason is that a 240 volt load sits across both ungrounded conductors, so a single pole switch on one leg leaves the other leg live at the appliance terminals even with the switch off. Anyone opening that appliance to service it finds 120 volts to ground where they expected nothing.
The code backs this up from two directions. NEC 240.15(B) requires circuit breakers to open all ungrounded conductors of a circuit. NEC 210.4(B) requires that each multiwire branch circuit have a means to simultaneously disconnect all ungrounded conductors where the circuit originates at the panelboard. Two single pole breakers joined by an identified handle tie are permitted in the specific configurations 240.15(B) lists, and a handle tie has to be a listed tie, not a nail or a bent wire. A factory two pole common trip breaker is the clean answer and is what you will find on essentially every residential 240 volt circuit.
For switching the load itself rather than protecting the circuit, the equivalent logic gives you a double pole snap switch for something like a baseboard heater, or a two pole contactor driven by a low voltage thermostat for larger loads. In both cases the point is the same: both legs open together.
How do I check voltage drop on a long 240V run?
Past roughly 100 feet, the wire size stops being an ampacity question and becomes a voltage drop question. NEC Table 310.16 will happily tell you 6 AWG copper handles 55 amps, but if the run is 160 feet the appliance at the far end may see enough voltage sag to run hot and inefficiently. NEC 210.19(A) carries an informational note recommending branch circuit voltage drop be held to 3 percent, with 5 percent total across feeder and branch circuit. Informational notes are recommendations, not requirements, but they are what inspectors and manufacturers expect you to design to.
The single phase formula is:
VD = (2 × K × I × L) ÷ CM
where K is 12.9 for copper, I is the load current in amps, L is the one way run length in feet, and CM is the circular mils of the conductor. Worked example for a 50A EV charger continuously drawing 40A, on 6 AWG copper (26,240 circular mils), at 150 feet:
VD = (2 × 12.9 × 40 × 150) ÷ 26,240
VD = 154,800 ÷ 26,240
VD = 5.90 volts
5.90 ÷ 240 = 2.46 percent
That clears the 3 percent recommendation, so 6 AWG is fine at 150 feet for this load. Push it to 200 feet and the drop rises to 3.28 percent, which is where you would step up to 4 AWG and accept the much higher cable price from the first table. Run the numbers for your own length with the voltage drop calculator, and confirm the base gauge with the wire size calculator.
What makes a 240V quote go up?
Five things, roughly in order of how often they show up.
1. Finished walls. An open basement ceiling or an exposed garage wall is a two to four hour job. The same run fished through finished drywall, insulation and a plate line can take three times as long, and then there is drywall repair on top, which Angi priced at $300 to $900 in its August 3 2026 update.
2. No room in the panel. If the panel is full, you are into tandem breakers if the panel accepts them, a sub-panel, or a full service upgrade. That last one changes the project entirely. Price it with the panel upgrade cost calculator before you assume a simple circuit is all you need.
3. GFCI requirements. Covered above. Up to $155 on the breaker alone.
4. Distance and routing obstacles. A run that crosses a concrete slab, goes outdoors, or heads to a detached structure needs conduit, burial depth, and in the detached case a separate grounding electrode system. Outdoor and underground work is a different price band from an indoor pull.
5. Who is doing it. HomeGuide's February 11 2026 rate card puts an apprentice at $40 to $50 an hour, a journeyman at $50 to $70, and a master at $100 to $120 with a $125 call-out. Angi's August 2026 figures run $50 to $100 for an average electrician and $90 to $150 for a master. Most 240V circuits do not need a master electrician, but the trip fee of $100 to $200 applies either way.
Worth keeping in perspective: the billed shop rate is not the wage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median electrician wage at $30.38 an hour, or $63,190 a year, in its May 2025 OEWS data on the Occupational Outlook Handbook page last modified August 27 2026. The gap between that and a $60 to $130 billed rate is insurance, vehicles, licensing, permits, warranty and overhead.
Cost to run a 240V line for a dryer, EV charger, AC and welder
The appliance decides the breaker, the breaker decides the cable, and the cable is the one part of the price that scales with length. This table pairs each common load with the circuit it needs and the installed cost band to expect on a 20 to 50 foot run.
| Appliance | Typical breaker | Cable | Receptacle | Installed cost, 20 to 50 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric clothes dryer | 30A 2-pole | 10/3 | NEMA 14-30 | $250 to $650 |
| Electric range or oven | 40A or 50A 2-pole | 8/3 or 6/3 | NEMA 14-50 | $300 to $750 |
| Level 2 EV charger, 40A draw | 50A 2-pole | 6/3 | NEMA 14-50 or hardwired | $400 to $900 |
| Central air conditioner | 30A to 50A 2-pole | 10/2 to 6/2 | Hardwired, with disconnect | $300 to $800 |
| Electric water heater | 30A 2-pole | 10/2 | Hardwired | $250 to $600 |
| MIG or stick welder | 40A to 50A 2-pole | 8/3 or 6/3 | NEMA 6-50 | $350 to $800 |
| Hot tub or spa | 50A 2-pole GFCI | 6/3 | Hardwired, GFCI disconnect | $600 to $1,400 |
| Electric baseboard heater | 20A 2-pole | 12/2 | Hardwired, double pole thermostat | $200 to $500 |
Installed cost bands are typical installer ranges built from the line item breakdown above and cross-checked against HomeGuide and Angi published spans. They are not quotes. A two wire cable such as 10/2 is used where the appliance needs 240 volts only; three wire such as 10/3 is used where it also needs a 120 volt leg for controls, timers or a light.
The hot tub row is the outlier, and the reason is the GFCI breaker plus the outdoor disconnect. If you are pricing one, the $600 to $1,400 band assumes the panel has capacity. Note too that a Level 2 EV charger does not have to be a 50A circuit. Many units can be set to draw 32A on a 40A breaker with 8/3 cable, which saves on both cable and sometimes on a panel upgrade, at the cost of a slower charge. That trade is worth running before you commit to 50A.
Related calculators
Related reading
- How to wire a 240V outlet: step by step NEC guide, the companion to this cost guide
- What size wire for a 50 amp breaker
- What size wire for an EV charger
- Voltage drop over long wire runs
- Electrical panel upgrade cost, if the panel is full
- Knob and tube wiring replacement cost, if the house is older than the panel
- What a clothes dryer costs to run
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run a 240V line?
Between $250 and $900 installed for a typical run of 20 to 50 feet inside a finished house. HomeGuide priced a dedicated circuit at $250 to $900 and a 240V outlet at $250 to $800 installed, and Inch Calculator gives the same $250 to $800 span for a 30A dryer outlet. A 50A EV charger circuit sits at the top of that range or above it. Runs longer than about 60 feet, runs through finished walls, and jobs that trip a panel capacity problem move well past $1,000.
What is the cost per foot to run an electrical line?
Published figures are $6 to $8 per foot for standard house wiring per HomeGuide in February 2026, and $7 to $10 per linear foot per the HomeGuide outlet guide. Those describe ordinary 120V branch wiring installed in bulk. A single 240V circuit costs far more per foot because the fixed costs do not scale: the breaker, permit, trip charge and one hour minimum are the same at 10 feet or 40. A 40 foot 50A circuit works out near $15 per foot all in, while a 150 foot run of the same cable drops back toward $8.
How much does it cost to convert 120V to 240V?
You do not convert a 120V circuit. No device upgrades an existing circuit, because a 240V load needs two hot conductors from opposite legs of the panel and a 120V circuit has only one. The work is running a brand new 2-pole circuit, which is why the cost is the same $250 to $900 as any new 240V line. The old cable is rarely reusable because it is 14 or 12 gauge. The one exception is a dedicated 20A 120V circuit in 12/2 that an electrician can re-identify and reland on a 2-pole breaker for a small load such as a baseboard heater.
How much does it cost to run a 220 volt line?
The same as a 240V line, because they are the same circuit. ANSI C84.1 lists 120/240 volts as the standard nominal system voltage for single phase three wire residential service. The 220 and 230 labels are older nomenclature that survived on appliance nameplates and in everyday speech. An electrician quoting a 220 line, a 230 line and a 240 line is quoting the same work at the same price.
What size wire do I need for a 240V circuit?
For copper NM-B at the 60 degree C column of NEC Table 310.16, which NEC 334.80 requires for NM cable: 12 gauge for 20A, 10 gauge for 30A, 8 gauge for 40A, 6 gauge for 50A and 4 gauge for 70A. NEC 240.4(D) caps 12 gauge at 20A and 10 gauge at 30A regardless of the table value. Three wire cable such as 10/3 is needed when the appliance uses both 240V and 120V, which covers most ranges and dryers. Long runs may need the next size up for voltage drop rather than ampacity.
Which would be the best choice for controlling one 240V load?
A two pole device, meaning a double pole switch or a double pole circuit breaker, because it opens both ungrounded conductors at the same time. A single pole switch on one leg leaves the other leg energized at the appliance even when off. NEC 240.15(B) requires circuit breakers to open all ungrounded conductors, and NEC 210.4(B) requires a means to simultaneously disconnect all ungrounded conductors of a multiwire branch circuit at the panelboard. Two single pole breakers joined by an identified handle tie are accepted in the cases 240.15(B) lists, but a factory two pole common trip breaker is the straightforward answer.
Does a 240V outlet need a GFCI breaker?
Often yes, and it is the biggest surprise on a modern quote. The 2020 NEC expanded 210.8(A) from 125V 15 and 20 amp receptacles to all 125V through 250V receptacles supplied by single phase branch circuits rated 150 volts or less to ground, in the listed dwelling unit locations. That pulls a 240V dryer receptacle in a laundry room and a 240V range receptacle in a kitchen into scope. A Square D Homeline 50A 2-pole breaker was $18.24 at Home Depot in October 2026, while the 2-pole GFCI version was $173.36. Whether it applies depends on the NEC edition your jurisdiction adopted, so ask the AHJ.
How long does it take an electrician to run a 240V line?
Three to five hours for a straightforward 20 to 50 foot run where the path is open, such as an unfinished basement or a garage with exposed framing, plus the panel work. Fishing the same cable through finished walls can double or triple that. At the journeyman rate of $50 to $70 an hour HomeGuide published in February 2026, four hours is roughly $200 to $280, usually the largest single line on the invoice. The billed shop rate is not the wage: the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median electrician wage at $30.38 an hour in its May 2025 OEWS data.
Written by Munir Afridi. Reviewed against NEC Article 210, NEC 240.4(D), NEC 240.15(B), NEC Table 310.16 and NEC 334.80, with pricing checked against Home Depot listings and published 2026 installer cost surveys on October 14 2026.
Safety note. Electrical work carries safety and legal risk. A 240V circuit involves working inside an energized service panel. Verify any calculations with a licensed electrician familiar with your local code before performing work, and pull the permit. This article references the NEC generally and the 2020 NEC change to 210.8(A) specifically. Many jurisdictions operate under earlier editions or local amendments, and the 2026 edition of NFPA 70 is now published but adopted unevenly. Verify with your local AHJ.
Data sources: Home Depot online listings for Southwire and Cerrowire NM-B cable and Square D Homeline breakers, checked October 14 2026. Elliott Electric distributor pricing for 4/3 NM-B, October 14 2026. HomeGuide Electrical Work Pricing Guide, February 11 2026. HomeGuide Cost to Install an Electrical Outlet, August 29 2025. Angi Cost to Install an Outlet, updated August 3 2026. Inch Calculator electrical receptacle cost guide, last updated August 14 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook for electricians, May 2025 OEWS data, page last modified August 27 2026. ANSI C84.1-2020. NFPA 70 National Electrical Code. Installer cost ranges are typical published ranges, not quotes.