Every insulated wire price is a recovery percentage in disguise. Yards strip a sample, weigh the copper, divide by the original weight, and price your whole load on that ratio. THHN recovers about 77 percent copper and pays around $3.65 a pound; Romex recovers about 65 percent and pays around $3.00; computer wire recovers roughly a third and pays about $0.65. The gap between what a wire physically contains and what the yard pays for it is the processing cost, and it widens sharply as the copper gets thinner.
Scrap Price Today market analysis, written from exchange settlement data, mill and refiner pricing practice and published policy documents. Figures are examples; today's numbers are on the live scrap price board.
Understanding that one relationship tells you which wire to strip, which to sell as it is, and which to stop collecting.
The ladder, with the recovery arithmetic exposed
The last two columns are the useful ones. Published recovery is what the wire physically contains. Implied recovery is what the yard price works out to as a share of bare copper at $5.78 a pound.
| Grade | Typical price | Copper it contains | What the price implies | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCM and industrial cable | $3.80 to $4.50 | 83% | 72% | 11 points |
| THHN building wire | $3.25 to $4.05 | 77% | 63% | 14 points |
| Number 1 insulated | $3.00 to $3.80 | 73% | 59% | 14 points |
| Romex and NM-B | $2.60 to $3.40 | 64% | 52% | 12 points |
| Coax and heliax | $2.10 to $2.25 | 35% | 38% | none |
| Telecom and data wire | $1.40 to $2.20 | 35% | 31% | 4 points |
| Wire harnesses | $1.60 to $1.85 | 45% | 30% | 15 points |
| Number 2 insulated | $1.40 to $1.92 | 55% | 29% | 26 points |
| Number 3 low grade | $1.00 to $1.30 | 35% | 20% | 15 points |
| Armoured cable, BX | $0.75 to $0.80 | 30% | 13% | 17 points |
| Computer wire | $0.40 to $0.90 | 34% | 11% | 22 points |
| Christmas lights | $0.28 to $0.50 | 20% | 7% | 13 points |
Reading the gap correctly
The naive conclusion is that the biggest gaps are the biggest opportunities. Number 2 insulated shows a 26 point gap and computer wire 22, against 14 for THHN, so surely those are where stripping pays.
They are not, and the reason is the whole point.
The gap is the processing cost, and processing cost rises as conductors get thinner. Thick building wire strips fast in a machine. Thin multi-strand cord, ribbon cable and jelly-filled telecom wire are slow, jam machines, and yield copper that grades as number 2 rather than bare bright. The yard's discount is not arbitrary; it is a fairly accurate measure of how unpleasant your material is to handle.
So the gap tells you what the yard is charging for the job. Whether you should do that job yourself depends on whether you can do it faster than they can, and on thin wire you cannot.
Where stripping actually pays
Per 100 pounds, at published recovery rates and today's bare copper price:
- THHN: sells as-is for about $365, strips to about $445. Gain $80, or $0.80 a pound.
- Romex: sells as-is for about $300, strips to about $376. Gain $76, or $0.76 a pound.
- Number 2 insulated: the arithmetic says $152, but the stripped copper is number 2 rather than bare bright, and the hours involved are several times greater.
- Computer wire: the arithmetic says $126, and nobody hand-strips computer wire profitably.
The honest rule is the one our wire stripping analysis reaches from the other direction: strip thick single conductors, sell everything else by grade.
Identify before you sort
- THHN. Smooth, brightly coloured single conductor, waxy rather than dull. Around 74 to 80 percent copper. If the strands are silver rather than copper coloured it is tin-plated and grades lower.
- Romex or NM-B. Flat white, yellow or orange sheath containing two insulated conductors and one bare earth. Around 62 to 66 percent.
- BX or armoured cable. Steel or aluminium spiral armour over THHN conductors. The armour drags it to the bottom of the ladder at $0.75 to $0.80. Strip the armour and you have solid THHN, which is worth roughly four times as much, though the labour is significant.
- Extension cords and appliance cords. Number 2 territory, thin multi-strand, often tinned.
- Data, telephone and coax. Their own categories. Coax is priced separately because of the aluminium centre, so do not mix it in.
- Christmas lights and jelly wire. Bottom of the ladder. Worth collecting only if they arrive free with something else.
What ruins a grade
One rule dominates: yards commonly grade a load by the worst material in it. A handful of Christmas lights in a bucket of THHN can pull the whole bucket down.
Beyond that: brass and tin-plated connectors, heavy plug ends, steel staples still attached, water and mud, and burned insulation. Burning is both an offence and a downgrade, which our note on burning copper wire covers in full.
Relative to plain steel
For perspective, THHN is about 28 times the price of light iron per pound and Christmas lights about 3 times. Wire is the highest-value material most households ever accumulate, and also the one where the spread between grades is widest.
Our own indicative wire line sits at $2.79 a pound, between the Romex and number 2 bands, and is a general reference rather than a grade-specific price. Grade definitions are on our copper grades guide.
What this metal pays around the world
Scrap is a global market priced in US dollars, but what reaches a seller depends on trade position, freight to the nearest consumer and how many buyers compete locally. The table below converts the same grade into each market’s own currency and units at the day’s exchange rate, and shows the factor we apply.
| Market | Local price | USD per lb | Market factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺312.22 / kg | $2.92 | 1.04 |
| Germany | €5.44 / kg | $2.87 | 1.02 |
| United States | $2.81 / lb | $2.81 | 1.00 |
| China | CN¥40.79 / kg | $2.75 | 0.98 |
| Canada | C$3.77 / lb | $2.73 | 0.97 |
| United Kingdom | £4.40 / kg | $2.70 | 0.96 |
| Australia | A$8.17 / kg | $2.67 | 0.95 |
| United Arab Emirates | AED21.61 / kg | $2.67 | 0.95 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR21.61 / kg | $2.61 | 0.93 |
| India | ₹539 / kg | $2.59 | 0.92 |
| Bangladesh | ৳670 / kg | $2.47 | 0.88 |
| South Africa | R84.03 / kg | $2.39 | 0.85 |
Method
Recovery percentages and price ranges are collected from published yard price lists and grading guides across several states, and they vary regionally and with the copper market. The implied recovery column divides the midpoint of each published price range by our own bare copper board price, which is documented on the editorial policy page with live figures on the board.
The implied figures are arithmetic rather than a claim about any yard's costs. They are useful because they let you compare a quote against the physical content of the wire in your hand rather than against another quote.
We do not buy wire, sell stripping equipment or take referral fees.
Questions people ask
How do scrap yards decide what my wire is worth?
They strip a sample, weigh the recovered copper and divide by the original weight to get a recovery percentage, then price the whole load on that ratio. For common wire types they already know the percentage and simply assign your material to a category on sight.
What percentage of copper is in Romex?
Published yard figures put Romex and NM-B at roughly 62 to 66 percent copper by weight, with several yards documenting 65 percent. THHN building wire is higher at about 74 to 80 percent, which is why it sits a full grade above Romex on most price lists.
Should I strip Romex and THHN myself?
On thick building wire, usually yes. At today's prices stripping THHN gains about $0.80 a pound and Romex about $0.76. On thin cord, data cable and computer wire the arithmetic looks tempting but the labour is several times greater and the recovered copper grades lower.
Why is armoured BX cable worth so little?
The steel or aluminium armour is dead weight the yard has to remove, so BX sits near the bottom of the ladder at about $0.75 to $0.80 a pound. Remove the armour yourself and what is left is solid THHN worth roughly four times as much, but it is slow work.
Does one bag of Christmas lights really matter?
It can. Yards commonly grade a load by the worst material present, so low-grade wire mixed into a bucket of building wire risks pulling the whole bucket down. Keep categories in separate bags and label them.
What is the difference between number 1 and number 2 insulated wire?
Copper content and conductor thickness. Number 1 covers heavier unplated building wire recovering around 70 to 80 percent. Number 2 covers thinner, tin or nickel plated and double-insulated wire recovering nearer 45 to 65 percent, including extension cords and appliance leads.
Why does tinned wire pay less if it is still copper?
The tin coating has to be removed at the refinery, so plated conductors grade as number 2 rather than bare bright even when the copper underneath is identical. Scratch the strands: silver over copper means tinned.
Is it worth collecting low-grade wire at all?
Only in volume and only if it arrives free with other material. Computer wire and Christmas lights pay about 5 and 3 times light iron respectively, against 28 times for THHN, so they are worth taking rather than seeking out.
Frequently asked questions
How do scrap yards decide what my wire is worth?
They strip a sample, weigh the recovered copper and divide by the original weight to get a recovery percentage, then price the whole load on that ratio. For common wire types they already know the percentage and simply assign your material to a category on sight.
What percentage of copper is in Romex?
Published yard figures put Romex and NM-B at roughly 62 to 66 percent copper by weight, with several yards documenting 65 percent. THHN building wire is higher at about 74 to 80 percent, which is why it sits a full grade above Romex on most price lists.
Should I strip Romex and THHN myself?
On thick building wire, usually yes. At today's prices stripping THHN gains about $0.80 a pound and Romex about $0.76. On thin cord, data cable and computer wire the arithmetic looks tempting but the labour is several times greater and the recovered copper grades lower.
Why is armoured BX cable worth so little?
The steel or aluminium armour is dead weight the yard has to remove, so BX sits near the bottom of the ladder at about $0.75 to $0.80 a pound. Remove the armour yourself and what is left is solid THHN worth roughly four times as much, but it is slow work.
Does one bag of Christmas lights really matter?
It can. Yards commonly grade a load by the worst material present, so low-grade wire mixed into a bucket of building wire risks pulling the whole bucket down. Keep categories in separate bags and label them.
What is the difference between number 1 and number 2 insulated wire?
Copper content and conductor thickness. Number 1 covers heavier unplated building wire recovering around 70 to 80 percent. Number 2 covers thinner, tin or nickel plated and double-insulated wire recovering nearer 45 to 65 percent, including extension cords and appliance leads.
Why does tinned wire pay less if it is still copper?
The tin coating has to be removed at the refinery, so plated conductors grade as number 2 rather than bare bright even when the copper underneath is identical. Scratch the strands: silver over copper means tinned.
Is it worth collecting low-grade wire at all?
Only in volume and only if it arrives free with other material. Computer wire and Christmas lights pay about 5 and 3 times light iron respectively, against 28 times for THHN, so they are worth taking rather than seeking out.