Trade Price Book
MenuClose

Reference · State of Hawaii

Hawaii trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Hawaii, 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.

  • Wages BLS OEWS May 2025
  • Payroll and licenses state agencies
  • Checked and
Plumbing median
$37.53/h+22.4% vs the U.S.12th of 51
HVAC median
$31.47/h+7.3% vs the U.S.15th of 51
Electrical median
$46.38/h+52.7% vs the U.S.3rd of 51
New-employer SUTA
2.40%on the first $64,500
Payroll programs
1 programTDI
Sales tax on labor
Taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Hawaii

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.

Hourly pay, 10th to 90th percentileDrawn to scale: one dollar axis for all three trades

  • PlumbingU.S. median $30.67

    plumbers: 10th percentile $22.96, 25th $29.60, median $37.53, 75th $47.09, 90th $54.47 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $20.73, 25th $26.75, median $31.47, 75th $37.11, 90th $47.80 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $21.99, 25th $33.88, median $46.38, 75th $58.05, 90th $59.90 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.

  • 25th–75th percentile
  • State median
  • U.S. median
Hourly pay by percentile for plumbers, HVAC techs and electricians in Hawaii, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$22.96$20.73$21.99
25th$29.60$26.75$33.88
Median$37.53$31.47$46.38
75th$47.09$37.11$58.05
90th$54.47$47.80$59.90
Mean$39.81$32.24$44.65
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+22.4%+7.3%+52.7%
Rank12th15th3rd
Jobs2,5001,3003,070

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.

Payroll costs the state adds

What Hawaii 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.

State unemployment tax (SUTA)

Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), Unemployment Insurance Division

Wage base
$64,500 per employee a year
New-employer rate
2.40%
Construction
No separate rate published

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 2.40% × $64,500 = $1,548At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($37.53 × 2,080 h = $78,062). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Disability Compensation Division

Who must carry it
Any employeeAny employer with one or more employees, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, must provide workers’ compensation coverage, except those excluded by HRS § 386-1. labor.hawaii.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersMost employers buy from insurance carriers authorized to write workers’ compensation in Hawaii (the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs keeps the list); the alternative is director-approved self-insurance. Employees may not be made to pay toward premiums. labor.hawaii.gov
Owners
Excluded from covered employment are sole proprietors, partners, LLC members with at least a 50% interest, anyone owning at least 50% of the corporation they work for, and unpaid officers owning at least 25% of a corporation with no employees (HRS § 386-1). No employer may require a worker to incorporate, form an LLC or become a partner as a condition of employment. capitol.hawaii.gov
Construction
A contractor who takes on work under a contract is the employer of everyone doing that work, including the employees of its subcontractors and their subcontractors (HRS § 386-1). capitol.hawaii.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)

In effect in 2026 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations - Disability Compensation Division

Total rate
No state rateEmployer must buy an insured plan or be an approved self-insurer; premium is set by the plan/insurer
Employer pays
The cost not withheld from employees (at least half of the premium); amount depends on the insurer premium
Wage cap
$1,500.21 a week per employee (the maximum weekly wage base)
Employees
Employer may withhold up to half the premium, max 0.5% of weekly wage / $7.50 per week (2026)

Coverage is itself private: insured plan, approved self-insured plan, or qualifying collective bargaining agreement.

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.

What a shop in Hawaii needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Hawaii’s median wage for each trade and its unemployment tax filled in. Your own numbers will differ; change them in the calculator below.

Example shopBreak-evenRate, 10% profit
Plumbingwage $37.53$128.48$142.75→ $145
HVACwage $31.47$115.47$128.30→ $130
Electricalwage $46.38$147.47$163.86→ $165

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).

Change the numbers for your shop

The labor rate calculator, opened on Hawaii: pick your trade, put in your own crew, pay and overhead, and the rate and break-even redraw as you type.

Your labor rate

Who does the billable work?

Example shop in Hawaii: 3 techs at the state’s median plumber wage, $120,000 overhead. Change any number or pick another state.

Charge at least Example shop · Hawaii

Charge at least $142.75 per billable hour; break-even $128.48.

Round up to $145 (+$2.25)

See it drawn to scale
Rate build-upDrawn to scale: every dollar the same height
Rate build-up for the example, drawn to scaleColumn from $0 to $142.75 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $64.15, taxes & benefits $17.71, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $14.28. Break-even line at $128.48. Rounded up to $145.12345$0Labor$81.86Break-even$128.48Your rate$142.75Round up to$145
  1. Wage$78,062.40 ÷ 1,216.8 h$64.15
  2. Taxes & benefits27.61% of pay$17.71
  3. Overhead$120,000 ÷ 3,650.4 h$32.87
  4. Truck$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h$13.74
  5. Profit 10%of the price$14.28
Break-even
$128.48
Profit per hour
$14.28
Revenue a year
$521,107

$128.48 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $142.75rounded up to $145

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $145 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$47.89per paid hour
Labor
$81.86per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
27.61%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $128.48 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $119.30, $9.18 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $125.74.
Show the math
  1. Worked hours2,080 h − 26 days × 8 h = 1,872 h
  2. Billable hours per tech1,872 h × 65% = 1,216.8 h
  3. Gross pay per tech$37.53 × 2,080 h = $78,062.40
  4. Employer taxes and comp$4,839.87 SS + $1,131.90 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $1,548.00 SUTA + $2,084.27 comp = $9,646.04
  5. Benefits$78,062.40 × 15.25% = $11,904.52
  6. Labor per billable hour$99,612.96 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $81.86
  7. Overhead per billable hour$120,000 ÷ (3 × 1,216.8 h) = $32.87
  8. Truck per billable hour$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $13.74
  9. Break-even$81.86 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $128.48
  10. Rate at 10% profit$128.48 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $142.75

Change the numbers

State and trade
Trade

Fills the wage and state unemployment tax (SUTA). Workers’ comp and everything else stay as they are.

Filled for Hawaii3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$37.53/hr
Hawaii median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate New employer
2.40%
New-employer rate; no separate construction rate found · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$64,500
Hawaii · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026

Your own rate notice wins. These are new-employer rates: after one to three years the state sets your own, and construction employers often pay a different rate.

Hawaii: pay, payroll taxes and licensesSee all 50 states and DC
Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Hawaii median for plumbers, BLS OEWS May 2025.

Hours and time off2,080 h · 26 days off

40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080.

Holidays, vacation and sick days, 8 h each. Example: 8 + 11 + 7 (BLS).

Optional. Paid at 1.5 × the wage. Leave 0 if none.

Billable time

Share of worked hours that ends up on invoices. Published figures run from 30% to 65%.

Billable hours1,216.8 hper tech · 3,650.4 h for the shop
Payroll taxes and benefits+27.61% of pay

Filled: Hawaii new-employer rate, DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Hawaii, DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026.

Use the rate on your policy. Example: BLS construction average.

Health, retirement and other benefits. Example: BLS construction average.

Loaded wage$47.89per paid hour · burden 27.61%

Included automatically (IRS, tax year 2026): Social Security 6.2% of pay up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45%, federal unemployment (FUTA) 0.6% of the first $7,000.

Shop costs

An example figure. Everything except field pay and trucks — split it in the worksheet below.

Payments, fuel, insurance and upkeep. Enter 0 if trucks are already in overhead.

Profit

Profit as a share of the price, not a markup on cost.

Your rate: $142.75 per billable hour · break-even $128.48. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Hawaii’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.

Labor
TaxedHawaii has no sales tax, but its general excise tax (GET) applies to a contractor’s gross income from building, repairing or improving structures: 4% plus the county surcharge. Businesses may pass it on to customers.No repair vs. new construction split. Qualifying payments to subcontractors can be deducted from gross income; the cost of materials can’t.
Materials
Customer, in the price or on the billMaterials are part of the contract price taxed at 4% plus surcharge, which the contractor may pass on to the customer; the supplier’s sale of materials built into the job is a wholesale sale taxed at 0.5%.
Also
Each county adds a 0.5% surcharge, in effect through 2030.

Read October 24, 2026 on the agency pages listed under Sources. All 50 states and DC side by side.

Licenses and state fees

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.

Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical

State license

Hawaii Contractors License Board (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division)

  • Plumbing C-37 Plumbing contractor
  • HVAC C-52 Ventilating and air conditioning contractor
  • Electrical C-13 Electrical contractor

Generally, anyone who offers to, holds oneself out as able to, or contracts to perform residential, commercial, or public works construction, alterations, or improvements must hold a contractor license.

FeeAmount
Application fee (non-refundable)one-time$50
Examination feeone-time (per exam part; most classifications have two parts)$75
Initial license feescontracting entity or sole proprietor, licensed Oct 1 of an even year – Sept 30 of an odd year (license fee $355 + recovery fund $150 + education fund $10 + compliance resolution fund $148)one-time (license runs to Sept 30 of the next even year)$663
Initial license feescontracting entity or sole proprietor, licensed Oct 1 of an odd year – Sept 30 of an even year (license fee $260 + recovery fund $150 + education fund $10 + compliance resolution fund $74)one-time (license runs to Sept 30 of that even year)$494
Biennial renewalcontracting entity and sole proprietor (total)2 years$353

Initial totals are from the Board’s FAQ and match HAR 16-53-17: $663 = license fee $355 (original $260 plus half the $190 renewal) + recovery fund $150 + education fund $10 + compliance resolution fund $148; $494 = $260 + $150 + $10 + $74. Renewal $353 = $190 + education fund $5 + recovery fund $10 + compliance resolution fund $148. All licenses expire Sept 30 of even-numbered years. An entity also needs a licensed Responsible Managing Employee (RME), who pays separate fees (RME license fees $438 or $334 depending on the year of the biennium; renewal $208).

Plumbing Plumbing work itself must be done by an individual licensed as a plumber (PM or PJ) by the Board of Electricians and Plumbers (HRS 444-9.5, ch. 448E) — separate license not covered here.

Electrical Electrical work itself must be done by an individual licensed as an electrician (ES or EJ) by the Board of Electricians and Plumbers (HRS 444-9.5, ch. 448E) — separate license not covered here.

Keeping the license

Renewal
PlumbingHawaii contractor licenses, including C-37 plumbing, all expire September 30 of even-numbered years and renew every two years; individual journeyman and master plumber licenses renew every three years by June 30 (2027, 2030, 2033). cca.hawaii.govHVACHawaii contractor licenses, including C-52 ventilating and air conditioning, all expire September 30 of even-numbered years and renew every two years. cca.hawaii.govElectricalHawaii contractor licenses, including C-13 electrical, expire September 30 of even-numbered years and renew every two years; individual electrician licenses renew every three years by June 30 (2026, 2029, 2032). cca.hawaii.gov
Continuing ed.
PlumbingThe contractor license itself has no continuing-education rule, but active journeyman and master plumbers must complete the Board of Electricians and Plumbers’ continuing competency course on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code to renew for the July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027 period; the board names the course, not a number of hours. cca.hawaii.govHVACThe Contractors License Board’s renewal requirements (fees, tax clearance, insurance and any bond) include no continuing education for contractor licenses. cca.hawaii.govElectricalThe contractor license has no continuing-education rule, but active licensed electricians (except maintenance electricians) must complete the Board of Electricians and Plumbers’ continuing competency course on National Electrical Code updates to renew; the board names the course, not a number of hours. cca.hawaii.gov
Reciprocity
The Hawaii Contractors License Board has no reciprocity agreements; every applicant must meet the same licensing and exam requirements. cca.hawaii.gov

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop

Registration
In Hawaii the specialty contractor license from the Contractors License Board (for example C-37 plumbing, C-13 electrical, C-52 ventilating and air conditioning) is the contractor license itself; there is no extra statewide contractor registration on top of it. Individual electricians and plumbers also need their own licenses from the Board of Electricians and Plumbers. cca.hawaii.gov
Bond
The Hawaii Contractors License Board has no standard bond amount, but it may require a surety bond as proof of financial integrity before issuing a license, and any bond it imposes must be kept current at renewal (HAR 16-77). cca.hawaii.gov
Insurance
$300,000Hawaii contractors must carry liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $50,000 per occurrence for property damage, plus workers’ compensation if they have employees, and keep the coverage continuous; a lapse forfeits the license (HAR 16-77-8). cca.hawaii.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State license only Who licenses the trades in Hawaii

Contractor licenses and individual electrician and plumber licenses are issued by the state (DCCA’s Contractors License Board and Board of Electricians and Plumbers); the counties issue building, electrical and plumbing permits and register owner-builders. cca.hawaii.gov

State and city pages read

What Hawaii 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.

Mechanic’s lien

Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 507-41 to 507-49Chapter 507, Part II. Mechanic’s and Materialman’s Lien

You, hired by the owner
Before or when a homeowner signs a contract for home construction or improvements, a licensed contractor must explain verbally all lien rights of everyone on the job and the homeowner’s option to demand a bond, and must give a written signed contract containing that information before work starts (HRS § 444-25.5). A violation is an unfair or deceptive practice under chapter 480. There is no pre-lien notice on non-residential jobs. capitol.hawaii.gov
Subs and suppliers
No preliminary noticeHawaii’s lien part has no preliminary notice for subcontractors or suppliers; every claimant files the same Application for a Lien with the circuit court and serves the owner, the general contractor and the party who contracted for the work (HRS § 507-43(a)). capitol.hawaii.gov
File the lien
45 daysFile the Application for a Lien and Notice of Lien in circuit court no later than 45 days after the date of completion, which is when a notice of completion has been published twice and filed with the court clerk; if no notice is published within one year, completion is deemed to be one year after actual completion (HRS § 507-43(b), (f), (g)). The lien attaches only after a court hearing finds probable cause. Subs and suppliers have the same deadline. capitol.hawaii.gov
Enforce it
3 monthsThe lien expires 3 months after the court enters the Order Directing Lien to Attach unless you start proceedings to enforce it within that time (HRS § 507-43(e)); the foreclosure action is filed in the circuit court where the property is (§ 507-47). capitol.hawaii.gov
Homes
On repairs or improvements to property used mainly as a dwelling, a supplier has no lien for materials sold to a general contractor or sub who was required to be licensed but was not, or if it gave the contractor unreasonable credit; a credit application or reasonable credit inquiry makes the credit prima facie reasonable (HRS § 507-49(a)). capitol.hawaii.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesOn private jobs a contractor must pay its sub within 10 days after the later of receiving the sub’s invoice with required supporting documents or being paid by the owner for that work, with interest at 1.5% per month from the due date unless there is a bona fide dispute (HRS § 444-25, which does not apply to public contracts). Section 444-25 sets no deadline for the owner to pay the prime contractor. capitol.hawaii.gov
Retainage
No private-job capHawaii sets no retainage cap or release deadline for private jobs; the lien part only lets the owner hold back from the contractor enough to cover filed liens (HRS § 507-48). capitol.hawaii.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Hawaii

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 Honolulu airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
0
Cooling degree days
4,767
Nights ≤ 32 °F
0
Days ≥ 90 °F
32
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Honolulu airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan0268–
Feb0246–
Mar0299–
Apr0348–
May0408–
Jun0461–
Jul0515–
Aug0533–
Sep0498–
Oct0477–
Nov0389–
Dec0326–

There is no heating season at Honolulu airport: the normals show no heating degree days at all and 4,767 cooling degree days a year, with the most in August.

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are January and February (268 and 246 degree days).

The normals show no nights at or below freezing. Days reaching 90 °F: about 32 a year, the most in August.

NOAA’s population-weighted state figures cover only the 48 contiguous states, so Hawaii is shown by this station alone.

Station: Honolulu airport (USW00022521), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file. Bars share one scale: the longest is 533 degree days. Read .

Sources

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.

  1. May 2025 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (state file oesm25st)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  2. Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2025 (news release USDL-26-0725, May 15, 2026)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  3. Public Data API (national OEWS series for the three occupations)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  4. Unemployment insurance tax rates (labor.hawaii.gov)Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), Unemployment Insurance Division · read October 28, 2026
  5. Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, Effective July 2026U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance · read October 28, 2026
  6. Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations - Disability Compensation Division · read October 28, 2026
  7. Tax Facts 99-3: General Excise and Use Tax Information for Construction ContractorsHawaii Department of Taxation · revised May 2025 · read October 24, 2026
  8. Tax Facts 37-1: General Excise Tax (GET)Hawaii Department of Taxation · revised May 2025 · read October 24, 2026
  9. County Surcharge on General Excise and Use TaxHawaii Department of Taxation · last updated January 9, 2024 · read October 24, 2026
  10. Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 507-41 to 507-49 — Chapter 507, Part II. Mechanic’s and Materialman’s LienOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  11. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsHawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Disability Compensation Division · read November 4, 2026
  12. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Honolulu airport (USW00022521)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026