Reference · State of California
What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in California, what the state adds to payroll, whether labor is taxed, what a license costs, how lien rights work and when the heating and cooling seasons peak — each figure from the agency that sets it, with the date we read it.
Hourly pay across all industries, May 2025. Half of the workers in each trade earn less than the median and half earn more; one in ten earns less than the 10th percentile. Union and non-union, no self-employed.
PlumbingU.S. median $30.67
plumbers: 10th percentile $22.76, 25th $28.36, median $35.01, 75th $48.17, 90th $63.03 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.
HVACU.S. median $29.33
HVAC techs: 10th percentile $22.57, 25th $28.02, median $34.88, 75th $43.65, 90th $52.44 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.
ElectricalU.S. median $30.38
electricians: 10th percentile $22.50, 25th $28.50, median $36.62, 75th $49.52, 90th $67.47 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.
| Percentile | Plumbing | HVAC | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $22.76 | $22.57 | $22.50 |
| 25th | $28.36 | $28.02 | $28.50 |
| Median | $35.01 | $34.88 | $36.62 |
| 75th | $48.17 | $43.65 | $49.52 |
| 90th | $63.03 | $52.44 | $67.47 |
| Mean | $39.58 | $36.24 | $41.28 |
| U.S. median | $30.67 | $29.33 | $30.38 |
| vs U.S. | +14.2% | +18.9% | +20.5% |
| Rank | 17th | 12th | 15th |
| Jobs | 47,660 | 35,130 | 73,310 |
Dollars an hour. BLS occupations: Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152); Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021); Electricians (SOC 47-2111). “vs U.S.” compares the medians; rank 1 is the highest median of the 50 states and DC. Released May 15, 2026; the next survey is due each spring.
What California charges an employer on top of wages: unemployment tax, and any paid-leave or disability program funded through payroll, and who must carry workers’ comp. Federal Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax apply in every state and are already in the calculator. Workers’ comp premiums depend on the class code and the insurer, so the card gives the rules, not a rate.
Per tech, a year 3.40% × $7,000 = $238With the Employment Training Tax (ETT) billed on top: (3.40% + 0.10%) × $7,000 = $245At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($35.01 × 2,080 h = $72,821). The calculator uses the rate alone.
State pages read
California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation
Statute and agency pages read
In effect in 2026 California Employment Development Department (EDD)
Employer’s own cost, share of wages 5 employees: None20 employees: None
Approved Voluntary Plan (VP) may replace SDI, with employer and majority-of-employees consent.
New-employer rates usually last one to three years — longer in some states (four years in Indiana, four to five in D.C.); then the state assigns your own rate, and your rate notice wins over any figure here. The calculator below uses the new-employer rate where one is clear. Where a state’s own pages could not be read, the card says so and gives the U.S. Labor Department’s figure.
The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with California’s median wage for each trade and its unemployment tax filled in. Your own numbers will differ; change them in the calculator below.
The example’s federal unemployment tax is the standard 0.6%. California employers pay more because of the FUTA credit reduction — 1.20% more for 2025, and the U.S. Labor Department lists 1.50% as California’s potential reduction for 2026 — on the first $7,000 of each worker’s pay.
| Example shop | Break-even | Rate, 10% profit |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbingwage $35.01 | $121.99 | $135.55→ $140 |
| HVACwage $34.88 | $121.71 | $135.24→ $140 |
| Electricalwage $36.62 | $125.45 | $139.39→ $140 |
Per billable hour; → is the rate rounded up, as the calculator rounds it. Everything except the wage and the unemployment tax is the national example (BLS, IRS and DOL figures listed on the labor rate calculator).
The labor rate calculator, opened on California: pick your trade, put in your own crew, pay and overhead, and the rate and break-even redraw as you type.
Charge at least Example shop · California
Charge at least $135.55 per billable hour; break-even $121.99.
Round up to $140 (+$4.45)
See it drawn to scale$121.99 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $135.55rounded up to $140
Price your tasks at $140 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.
What moves your rate
What California’s tax agency says about repair and installation labor on buildings and the parts and fixtures that go into them. This is what the agency’s pages say, not tax advice.
Read October 24, 2026 on the agency pages listed under Sources. All 50 states and DC side by side.
The license a shop needs from the state to contract for each trade, the board that issues it and the fees on its own schedule. Cities and counties can add their own licenses, registrations and permit fees; exam vendors and fingerprinting may charge more.
State license
Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
All businesses or individuals who construct or alter structures in California must be CSLB-licensed if the project needs a building permit, uses additional workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| All three | |
| Original application fee(exam or waiver, one classification; nonrefundable)one-time | $450 |
| Initial license fee – sole owner2 years (first license period) | $200 |
| Initial license feenon-sole owner (partnership, corporation, LLC)2 years (first license period) | $350 |
| Plumbing and HVAC | |
| Active timely renewal – sole owner2 years | $450 |
| Active timely renewal – non-sole owner2 years | $700 |
| Electrical · C-10 Electrical Contractor | |
| Active timely renewal – sole owner2 years | $470 |
| Active timely renewal – non-sole owner2 years | $720 |
Application fee covers the exam (no separate exam fee listed on the CSLB fee page). Live Scan fingerprint fees ($32 DOJ + $17 FBI + site rolling fee) are extra. A contractor bond and other requirements apply (not fees).
Plumbing and HVAC Delinquent renewal costs more (e.g. $675 sole owner); inactive licenses expire every four years.
Electrical Delinquent renewal costs more (e.g. $695 sole owner for C-10); inactive licenses expire every four years. C-10 renewals carry a $20 surcharge ($470/$720).
Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop
Board and statute pages read
Check Who licenses the trades in California
Check with the state Whether cities and counties also license these trades: The official pages and rules we read on November 4, 2026 do not settle it.
State and city pages read
What California law says about lien rights on private jobs — the notices, the deadline to file and the deadline to sue — and whether a statute sets payment deadlines or caps retainage. Read from the statute itself; it is not legal advice.
Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8400–8494 (within Title 2, Private Works of Improvement, §§ 8160–8851)Civil Code, Division 4, Part 6, Title 2 Private Works of Improvement, Chapter 4. Mechanics Lien
Statutes read
Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)
Statutes read
Degree days, NOAA’s index of the energy it takes to heat or cool a building: each degree a day’s mean temperature falls below 65 °F is one heating degree day, each degree above is one cooling degree day. Thirty-year normals for Los Angeles airport (LAX), month by month.
| Month | Heating | Cooling | Nights ≤ 32 °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 227 | 6 | – |
| Feb | 207 | 7 | – |
| Mar | 190 | 9 | – |
| Apr | 133 | 17 | – |
| May | 70 | 25 | – |
| Jun | 13 | 57 | – |
| Jul | 2 | 143 | – |
| Aug | 1 | 179 | – |
| Sep | 2 | 155 | – |
| Oct | 26 | 91 | – |
| Nov | 111 | 30 | – |
| Dec | 232 | 3 | – |
Los Angeles airport (LAX) has two working seasons: 1,214 heating and 720 cooling degree days a year, heating peaking in December and cooling in August.
The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and June (94 and 70 degree days).
The normals show no nights at or below freezing. Days reaching 90 °F: about 5 a year, the most in October.
Weighted by where California’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 2,583 heating and 850 cooling degree days — 43rd for heating and 24th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).
Station: Los Angeles airport (LAX) (USW00023174), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 232 degree days. Read .
Each page opened on the date shown. License, registration, lien and workers’ comp sources are linked beside each fact above. Figures change: the agency’s own page wins over this one.