Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Gross Sales		$ 1,471,694	$ 1,399,863
Cash discounts		(6,214)	(6,085)
Net Sales		1,465,480	1,393,778
Cost of merchandise sold		(1,185,833)	(1,134,752)
Gross Margin		279,647	259,026
Selling, general and administrative expenses		(244,732)	(232,067)
Depreciation and amortization		(11,311)	(10,309)
Other income, net		2,292	4,342
Income from Operations		25,896	20,992
Interest expense, net		(657)	(513)
Income before Provision for Income Taxes		25,239	20,479
Provision for income taxes		(10,142)	(7,985)
Net Income		15,097	12,494
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests		(52)	(34)
Net Income attributable to Graybar Electric Company, Inc.		$ 15,045	$ 12,460
Net Income per share of Common Stock (in dollars per share)	[1]	$ 0.91	$ 0.76
Cash Dividends per share of Common Stock (in dollars per share)		$ 0.30	$ 0.30
Average Common Shares Outstanding (Shares)	[1]	16,538	16,424

[1] (A)Adjusted for the declaration of a 2.5% stock dividend in 2015, shares related to which were issued in February 2016. Prior to the adjustment, the average common shares outstanding were 16,023 for the three months ended March 31, 2015.