Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Gross Sales	$ 1,537,869	$ 1,471,694
Cash discounts	(7,298)	(6,214)
Net Sales	1,530,571	1,465,480
Cost of merchandise sold	(1,230,742)	(1,185,833)
Gross Margin	299,829	279,647
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(258,045)	(244,732)
Depreciation and amortization	(11,876)	(11,311)
Other income, net	608	2,292
Income from Operations	30,516	25,896
Interest expense, net	(797)	(657)
Income before Provision for Income Taxes	29,719	25,239
Provision for income taxes	(11,996)	(10,142)
Net Income	17,723	15,097
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(42)	(52)
Net Income attributable to Graybar Electric Company, Inc.	$ 17,681	$ 15,045
Net Income per share of Common Stock (in dollars per share)	$ 1.00	$ 0.87	[1]
Cash Dividends per share of Common Stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.30	$ 0.30
Average Common Shares Outstanding (Shares)	17,621	17,365

[1] (A)Adjusted for the declaration of a 5% stock dividend in 2016, shares related to which were issued in February 2017. Prior to the adjustment, the average common shares outstanding were 16,538 for the three months ended March 31, 2016.