Contractor labor rates by state

A tradesperson's wage is only part of what a job costs. Every rate here starts with real pay and adds what it costs to put that worker on your job, in four steps:

1. The wage. The median hourly wage for the trade in that state from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Half of workers earn more, half earn less.
2. Times 1.4 for payroll costs.Social Security and Medicare, unemployment taxes, workers' comp and liability insurance typically add 25% to 50% on top of wages.
3. Divided by 0.8 for unbilled time. Driving, supply runs, estimates, cleanup and callbacks are paid hours nobody gets billed for. We assume 8 of every 10 paid hours are billable.
4. Times 1.4 for overhead and profit. The truck, tools, office, licenses, advertising, and a profit that keeps the business alive.

That works out to about 2.45 times the wage. The “most charge” range applies the same math to the 25th and 75th percentile wages, so it covers the middle half of the trade.

These are estimates for planning and comparing quotes, not quotes. Real rates vary with licensing, experience, city versus rural, job size, and how busy the season is. Most trades also price larger jobs by the unit (square, square foot, fixture) rather than the hour; the hourly rate is what sits underneath those prices.