Last updated October 31, 2026

Contractor hourly rates by trade in 2026

What to charge per hour in 24 trades, built from what each trade earns and a one-truck overhead model you can see. One table, then a deep pricing guide per trade with a flat-rate price list.

Most "contractor rates" pages are a range somebody typed. This one is arithmetic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes what every trade is paid, by percentile, every year. A rate is that wage plus what an hour of labor really costs, plus the overhead of a truck spread over the hours you can bill, plus a margin. Put those four things together and you get the hourly rate a one-truck shop needs to charge to pay its owner like the median tradesperson, like the top quarter, or like the top ten percent. The table below does it for 24 trades. Each trade name opens a guide with a price list for that trade's common jobs, with the math shown.

The model, once

Wage. BLS OEWS May 2025, national, hourly, for the occupation closest to the trade. The median is what half of employees earn more than. An owner should pay themselves at least that.
Load, 1.22. Payroll taxes, workers comp and the liability share. An hour of a person costs about 22 percent more than their wage.
Overhead. The truck, insurance, phone, software, tools, licenses and marketing, per year, set per trade from about $25,000 for a cleaning or pest business to over $50,000 where the equipment is heavy. Divided by billable hours.
Billable hours, 1,100. Out of 2,080. Estimating, driving, paperwork, weather and slow weeks are not billable. Most one-truck contractors who track it find fewer.
Margin, 20%. Profit after you have paid yourself a wage. Not the same as markup; the difference is here.

Rate = (wage × 1.22 + overhead ÷ 1,100) ÷ (1 − 0.2). The hourly rate calculator runs the same arithmetic with your own numbers.

Hourly rates by trade

Trade	Median wage	Rate at median	Rate at top quarter	Rate at top 10%
Plumbing	$31	$85	$100	$120
Electrical	$30	$85	$100	$115
HVAC	$29	$85	$95	$110
Roofing	$27	$85	$90	$105
Painting	$24	$65	$75	$85
Handyman	$24	$70	$80	$90
Landscaping	$19	$65	$70	$75
Flooring	$27	$70	$85	$100
Concrete and masonry	$27	$90	$95	$110
Carpentry	$29	$80	$90	$105
Fencing	$23	$70	$80	$90
General contractor	$55	$140	$165	$195
Drywall	$28	$75	$85	$105
Tile	$27	$70	$80	$95
Gutters	$30	$85	$100	$115
Pressure washing	$17	$55	$55	$65
Tree service	$25	$95	$105	$120
Garage doors	$24	$70	$80	$90
Septic	$24	$100	$110	$120
Pest control	$22	$60	$65	$75
Solar	$26	$85	$90	$105
Windows and doors	$27	$75	$85	$100
Siding	$29	$80	$95	$110
Decks	$29	$80	$90	$105

Rounded to $5. Each trade's guide shows its overhead figure, the full percentile table and a price list.

Why the market rate is often higher than the model

Shops with a dispatcher, a second truck and a marketing budget charge more than this model, and should: their overhead is bigger and they are paying for the hours a technician sits between calls. Emergency and after-hours work prices above every row here. Licensed trades in states with hard licensing price above the table because supply is limited. The model is the floor for a one-truck business that wants to stay in business, not a ceiling.

Why your rate is often lower than it should be

Three habits. Pricing labor at the wage you want to take home with no load and no overhead, so the truck is paid from your wages. Counting 2,080 hours as billable when 1,100 is closer to the truth. And applying a markup when you meant a margin: a 30 percent markup is a 23 percent margin. Each one quietly takes ten to twenty percent off every job. The guides below show the fix for each trade.

The pricing guides

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release, national percentile hourly wages by occupation. Each trade guide links its occupation table.
The rate model, overhead figures and the price-list inputs are ours and are printed on every page so they can be argued with. They are examples, not advice for any one market.

Questions contractors ask

What is a good hourly rate for a contractor in 2026?

It depends on the trade and on what you pay yourself. Built from BLS wages with normal one-truck overhead and a 20 percent margin, the rates run from about $55 an hour in the lowest-wage trades to $195 for a top-decile earner in the highest. The table on this page gives each trade.

How do I calculate my hourly rate as a contractor?

Take the wage you want to pay yourself, multiply by 1.22 for taxes and insurance, add your yearly overhead divided by the hours you can really bill (use 1,100, not 2,080), then divide by 0.8 for a 20 percent margin. The hourly rate calculator on this site does it.

Should I charge by the hour or by the job?

By the job, for anything you can scope. Customers want one number and a flat price lets you keep what you save by being fast. Hourly is for diagnosis and the parts you cannot see. Either way the flat price is built from hours at your rate.

Are these the rates customers are paying?

They are what a one-truck shop needs to charge to pay its owner a given wage and stay in business. Market prices in many areas are higher, especially for licensed and emergency work. They are rarely lower for long.

Try it on your next job

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