Electrical Wire (THHN) Cost Guide 2026

Quick Answer: THHN electrical wire commonly runs $0.15 to $1.20 per linear foot as of 2026, depending mostly on gauge and whether you buy copper or copper clad aluminum. The bulk of the cost is the copper commodity itself, so the price you pay on bid day can swing 10 to 25 percent from what you quoted last month. Use the ranges below as a planning anchor, then pull live quotes from your supplier for the actual bid.

What Drives the Price

THHN (thermoplastic high heat nylon) is a single conductor wire, almost always copper, used inside conduit and raceways in commercial and residential work. Five variables move almost all of the cost:

Gauge (AWG): The bigger the wire, the more copper in it, and copper is sold by weight. A 14 AWG run might cost $0.15 to $0.25 per LF while a 2 AWG pull runs $1.00 to $1.20 or more. Gauge is the single biggest price driver.
Metal: Solid copper is the default and what most specs call for. Copper clad aluminum (CCA) is cheaper, often 30 to 50 percent less, but it is not allowed on many jobs and carries a lower ampacity. Aluminum THHN/THWN exists for larger feeder sizes and changes both the price and the conduit fill calculation.
Insulation rating: Standard THHN is rated for dry and damp locations at 90°C. THWN adds wet location rating. THHN/THWN dual rated stock is what most distributors carry now, and it is usually priced the same as plain THHN.
Color: Black, red, white, and green are commodity colors. Pink, purple, orange, brown, and yellow are common but sometimes carry a small premium or come in larger put ups only. For phase identification in multiwire circuits, color availability matters more than price.
Put up and volume: Wire is sold by the spool (500 ft is the standard, 1,000 ft and 2,500 ft for smaller gauges). Buying cut lengths off a 500 ft spool costs more per foot than buying full spools. Full pallet pricing from a wire house is cheaper still.

Copper is a commodity traded on the LME and COMEX. When copper futures jump, your THHN quote jumps, often within the same week. Lock quotes on bid day and add a copper escalation line on long projects.

Typical Price Ranges by Type

These are commonly quoted ranges as of 2026, per linear foot, full spool pricing. Cut length and small order pricing runs higher.

14 AWG copper THHN: $0.15 to $0.25 per LF
12 AWG copper THHN: $0.20 to $0.35 per LF
10 AWG copper THHN: $0.30 to $0.50 per LF
8 AWG copper THHN: $0.45 to $0.75 per LF
6 AWG copper THHN: $0.65 to $1.00 per LF
4 AWG copper THHN: $0.90 to $1.40 per LF
2 AWG copper THHN: $1.20 to $1.80 per LF
1/0 AWG copper THHN: $2.00 to $3.00 per LF
4/0 AWG copper THHN: $3.00 to $4.50 per LF
Copper clad aluminum (CCA), 12 AWG: $0.10 to $0.18 per LF, where allowed

Stranded vs solid: the same gauge in stranded construction typically costs within 5 percent of solid. Most THHN pulled in conduit is stranded because it flexes without fatiguing. Solid is more common in device wiring and small residential runs.

How to Calculate the Quantity You Need

Take wire lengths off the electrical plans, by gauge and by circuit. For each circuit, measure from the panel to the first device, between devices, and back if it is a switch leg or three way. Add the vertical drops: panel to ceiling, ceiling to device box, and any slack required at the panel (commonly 6 to 8 ft per circuit for terminations).

Apply a 5 to 10 percent waste factor on top of the measured length. THHN is pulled through conduit, which means cuts at each box, breaks from snags, and short pieces left on the spool that are too short to reuse. Pulling waste runs higher than cabled wire because each cut leaves a stub.

Then round up to the buy unit. If a circuit calls for 320 ft of 12 AWG and the spool is 500 ft, you buy one spool and the leftover becomes your waste allowance. If three circuits together need 1,150 ft of 12 AWG, you buy three 500 ft spools. Track each gauge separately on the takeoff sheet so you can price each line with the correct unit cost.

Tie every quantity back to the sheet and circuit number it came from. When the GC asks where a number came from, you should be able to point at the panel schedule and the home run sheet in seconds.

How to Buy Smarter

Pull three quotes on bid day. Distributors price copper off the COMEX close, and one distributor may be a day behind another. A 10 to 25 percent spread between suppliers on the same gauge is normal in a volatile market.
Buy full spools, not cut lengths. Cut length pricing often carries a 15 to 30 percent premium and you still eat the stub waste. Full spools put the waste in your own bucket.
Lock quotes for 30 to 60 days on long projects. Most wire houses will hold copper pricing for a fixed quantity for 30 days, sometimes 60. On a six month project, lock the feeder wire and buy branch circuit wire as you go, or add a copper escalation clause to the contract.
Bundle the wire and conduit package. Buying THHN, conduit, fittings, and boxes from the same supplier in one negotiated package usually beats line item shopping, and it gives you one backorder risk instead of four.
Watch the spec for CCA opportunities. If the engineer will allow copper clad aluminum on low voltage or non critical circuits, the savings can be meaningful. If the spec says copper only, do not substitute without a written RFI response.

Where Estimators Get It Wrong

The most common mistake is using the spool price from the last project and not re quoting. Copper can move 15 percent in a month, and a stale number turns a profitable bid into a loss. Always reprice wire on bid day.

The second is undercounting the vertical drops. Electricians measure along the floor plan and forget the panel to ceiling rise, the ceiling to box drop, and the slack at each termination. On a two story building these drops can add 10 to 15 percent to the wire quantity, and they are pure cost if you miss them.

The third is ignoring color requirements. A spec that calls for pink and orange for fire alarm circuits, or a particular color code for a hospital, can force you into a special order with a longer lead time and a higher unit cost. Read the color schedule before you price the wire.

The fourth is forgetting the conduit fill penalty. Packing THHN tight in conduit saves on conduit but slows the pull and increases the labor units. If you price wire cheap and conduit tight, you eat the difference in labor.

Putting It Together

Price THHN by the linear foot, by gauge, off a measured takeoff that includes vertical drops and a 5 to 10 percent waste factor. Reprice copper on bid day from three suppliers, buy full spools, and lock pricing on long projects. Read the spec for color and metal requirements before you commit, and bundle the wire with the conduit package where you can. The wire is one of the most volatile lines on the electrical bid, so treat the unit cost as a moving number, not a constant.