Electrician vs. Plumber vs. HVAC Pay in 2026: What the Latest BLS Data Shows
Electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians earn close to the same median wage. In the May 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the three medians sit between $61,010 and $63,800, a gap of about $2,790 a year.
That wage is what an employer pays a worker. If you run your own electrical, plumbing or HVAC business, it is a starting point, not a price. You also carry payroll-type costs, overhead, unbilled time and self-employment tax, so your billable hourly rate has to sit well above the wage figure.
This article compares the three trades on pay, pay range and location, and compares plumbers and HVAC technicians on job growth. It then shows how to move from a wage to a rate you can put on an estimate.
Data note: Wage figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for May 2025, published April 30, 2026. The estimates use a model-based method over three years of survey panels, so they are not a single-year snapshot. BLS said the survey overlapped the federal shutdown (Oct 1 to Nov 12, 2025), that the response rate stayed in the normal range and that no methodology changes were needed. Employer cost figures are for June 2026.
Electrician vs. Plumber vs. HVAC Pay: The BLS Median Numbers
Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters have the highest median of the three, electricians sit in the middle and HVAC mechanics and installers are lowest.
| Trade | BLS code | Median per year | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | 47-2152 | $63,800 | $30.67 |
| Electricians | 47-2111 | $63,190 | $30.38 |
| HVAC mechanics and installers | 49-9021 | $61,010 | $29.33 |
Plumbers earn $610 more a year than electricians at the median. HVAC technicians earn $2,180 less than electricians. On an hourly basis the spread from top to bottom is $1.34.
The annual mean wage was $71,490 ($34.37 an hour) for electricians and $72,170 ($34.70 an hour) for plumbers. OEWS counted 757,220 electricians, the third-largest construction and extraction occupation, and 465,840 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters.
One limit matters for owners. OEWS covers wage and salary workers only, so it excludes the self-employed. For electricians, BLS also notes the wage data leaves out overtime and benefits.
How Wide the Pay Range Runs From the Lowest 10% to the Highest 10%
The median hides a wide spread. The lowest-paid tenth of electricians earned less than $42,640 and the highest-paid tenth earned more than $108,510. For plumbers the range was less than $44,150 to more than $108,420. For HVAC technicians it was less than $40,050 to more than $95,210.
Data Table
| Trade | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 42640 | 63190 | 108510 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | 44150 | 63800 | 108420 |
| HVAC mechanics and installers | 40050 | 61010 | 95210 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
The gap between the bottom and top tenth is about $65,870 for electricians, $64,270 for plumbers and $55,160 for HVAC technicians. Electricians and plumbers have almost the same ceiling. HVAC tops out about $13,000 lower at the 90th percentile.
Where a person works also moves pay. Median annual wages for electricians were $79,820 in government (excluding state and local education and hospitals), $74,550 in manufacturing, $61,570 for electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors, and $57,760 in employment services. The electrical contractors figure sits just under the all-industry median of $63,190.
Where Electricians and Plumbers Pay the Most by State
Oregon pays the most for both electricians and plumbers. The state figures below are annual mean wages, not medians. The electrician figures are from MapifyStats, which reproduces BLS OEWS data. The plumber figures are from StateSalary, a secondary site whose BLS sourcing was not verified. State figures for HVAC technicians are not covered here.
Data Table
| State | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 99750 |
| Washington | 94470 |
| Hawaii | 92870 |
| Illinois | 92230 |
| Alaska | 90040 |
Source: MapifyStats, reproducing BLS OEWS May 2025.
Data Table
| State | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| Oregon | 98450 |
| Illinois | 93400 |
| New Jersey | 92590 |
| Alaska | 90460 |
| Massachusetts | 90410 |
Source: StateSalary, a secondary site; its BLS sourcing was not verified.
Arkansas was the lowest-paying state for both trades, at $53,470 for electricians and $50,640 for plumbers. That puts Oregon about $46,280 ahead for electricians and about $47,810 ahead for plumbers.
For an owner, this is a reminder that a national median is a weak guide to your local labor market. The wage you must match to hire, and the rate your customers accept, both depend on your state.
Job Growth for Plumbers and HVAC Technicians
Both plumbers and HVAC technicians are projected to grow much faster than average over 2025 to 2035, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Electrician projections are not covered in this article.
| Measure | Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | HVAC mechanics and installers |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs in 2025 | 510,600 | 440,900 |
| Projected growth, 2025 to 2035 | 7% | 11% |
| Added jobs | 34,500 | 48,200 |
| Openings per year | about 42,000 | about 40,600 |
| Work for plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 65% | 68% |
| Self-employed | 8% | 6% |
For HVAC, BLS expects commercial construction (including data centers) and residential construction to drive growth. The 2025 job counts here are Employment Projections figures, so do not compare them with the OEWS counts earlier in this article.
Most technicians work for contractors rather than for themselves. The wage data therefore describes the employees you would hire, or the firms you compete with, more than it describes your own earnings.
Why BLS Wages Understate What a Tradesperson Costs
A wage is only part of what labor costs. BLS tracks employer cost per hour worked in its Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) series. In June 2026, private industry employers paid $46.89 an hour in total compensation, of which $32.82 (70.0%) was wages and $14.07 (30.0%) was benefits.
Construction runs higher.
| Per hour worked, June 2026 | Private industry | Construction |
|---|---|---|
| Total compensation | $46.89 | $51.96 |
| Wages and salaries | $32.82 | $36.13 |
| Benefits | $14.07 | $15.84 |
In construction, benefits were 30.5% of total compensation. That means every $1.00 of wages came with about $0.44 of other employer cost. The construction benefit costs per hour break down as insurance $3.90, legally required benefits $4.42, paid leave $2.63, supplemental pay $2.49 and retirement and savings $2.39.
One caution: ECEC measures all employees in an industry or occupational group. It has no separate electrician, plumber or HVAC series. The nearest group, installation, maintenance and repair occupations, had total compensation of $49.01 an hour with benefits at 31.4%.
Self-employment tax for owner-operators
If you are a sole proprietor, you also pay self-employment tax. The IRS rate is 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. In 2026 the Social Security part applies to the first $184,500 of combined wages, tips and net earnings, up from $176,100 in 2025. The Medicare part has no cap.
You figure the tax on Schedule SE and report profit on Schedule C. The filing trigger is net self-employment earnings of $400 or more. You can pay through quarterly estimated payments, and you can deduct the employer-equivalent half when you figure adjusted gross income.
Why Billable Hours Fall Short of 2,080
The OEWS annual mean wage is the hourly mean multiplied by 2,080 hours, which is 40 hours for 52 weeks of full-time, year-round work. Billable hours run well below that. The sources below point to unrecovered driving, other unbilled work and paid days off as the gaps.
A Field Promax report covered by ACHR News in June 2026 gives a sense of scale. It found HVAC technicians average 8.8 paid hours a day, of which 5.7 are billable, about 65%. This is a vendor report relayed by trade press, and it covers employed technicians at HVAC companies, not solo owners.
Data Table
| Time use | Hours |
|---|---|
| Billable | 5.7 |
| Unrecovered driving | 1.13 |
| Other unbilled work | 2 |
Source: Field Promax report, as covered by ACHR News, June 2026.
Applying 65% to a 2,080-hour year gives about 1,352 billable hours, before any days off. Vendor guidance points the same way. QuoteAnvil says realistic billable hours are 1,200 to 1,600 a year, with 1,400 to 1,500 realistic for solo contractors. Workiz assumes 5 billable hours a day and 14 paid days off, which gives 1,230 billable hours per technician. Both are vendor figures, not surveys.
How to Turn a Wage Into a Billable Hourly Rate
A workable rate covers your pay, your costs, your unbilled time and a margin. Here is a simple way to build one.
- Set your target pay. Use the BLS medians above as a reference, then pick what you want to take home. The QuoteAnvil example uses $60,000.
- Add overhead. QuoteAnvil gives typical overhead for solo contractors as $12,000 to $25,000 a year. That is a vendor illustration, and no trade association or SBA benchmark turned up, so use your own books where you can.
- Divide by realistic billable hours. Use 1,400 to 1,500 for a solo owner, not a full-time year.
- Add a margin. QuoteAnvil gives a typical range of 15% to 25%.
QuoteAnvil's formula is (desired salary + annual overhead) ÷ billable hours × (1 + profit margin). With $60,000 pay, $15,000 overhead and 1,500 hours, the result is $50 an hour, or $60 an hour with a 20% margin.
A fuller build-up, from PayBy.Trade, starts with $62,440 in pay, a figure the site labels a typical U.S. median but which was not verified against BLS. It adds 7.65% employer-half tax, 17% benefits and $30,000 of overhead for a total of $107,831. Divided by 1,400 hours, that is $77.02 an hour to break even, or $84.72 with 10% profit.
Workiz builds an HVAC technician rate the same way, from the shop's side.
| Workiz HVAC sample | Per billable hour |
|---|---|
| Loaded pay | $37.50 |
| Overhead | $13.01 |
| Profit margin (15%) | $8.91 |
| Target rate | $59.42 |
The examples differ because their assumptions differ. For reference, Workiz gives typical field-service ranges of $85 to $150 an hour for plumbers and electricians and $75 to $130 for HVAC. Those are vendor estimates, not BLS data.
Once you have a rate, put it into your estimates and invoices, and track your time so you can check how many hours you really bill. PineBill is the invoicing tool this blog is written for. Compare your actual billable hours with the 1,400 to 1,500 assumption after a few months, and adjust the rate if the real number is lower.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Electricians
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025
- MapifyStats — Electrician Wages by State, May 2025
- StateSalary — Plumber, Pipefitter, Steamfitter Salary by State
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Summary, 2026 Q02 Results
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Table 4. Private industry workers by occupational and industry group, 2026 Q02 Results
- Internal Revenue Service — Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
- Social Security Administration — 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
- ACHR News — Report: Only 65% of HVAC Technician Time Is Billable Hours
- QuoteAnvil — Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator guide
- Workiz — Hourly Labor Cost Calculator
- PayBy.Trade — Rate Calculator
Last updated: June 2026. Wage data is for May 2025 and employer cost data is for June 2026, and later releases or revisions may change these figures.