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Reference · State of Illinois

Illinois trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Illinois, 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
$48.05/h+56.7% vs the U.S.2nd of 51
HVAC median
$37.21/h+26.9% vs the U.S.3rd of 51
Electrical median
$47.87/h+57.6% vs the U.S.2nd of 51
New-employer SUTA
3.35%on the first $14,250
Payroll programs
Noneno paid-leave or disability program found
Sales tax on labor
Not taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Illinois

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 $24.16, 25th $34.65, median $48.05, 75th $57.72, 90th $60.79 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $22.45, 25th $28.94, median $37.21, 75th $46.17, 90th $56.51 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $23.67, 25th $35.35, median $47.87, 75th $56.47, 90th $59.45 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 Illinois, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$24.16$22.45$23.67
25th$34.65$28.94$35.35
Median$48.05$37.21$47.87
75th$57.72$46.17$56.47
90th$60.79$56.51$59.45
Mean$44.91$37.29$44.34
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+56.7%+26.9%+57.6%
Rank2nd3rd2nd
Jobs16,7509,74023,120

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 Illinois 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)

Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)

Wage base
$14,250 per employee a year
New-employer rate
3.35%
Construction
Same as other new employers

Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES; EA-50, 11/2025): 2026 entry rate 3.350%, which includes the 0.550% Fund Building Rate; DOL’s table shows 2.80%, so the state figure is used. Only NAICS 56 (administrative support and waste management) pays more (3.450%); IDES lists no higher construction rate for 2026.

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 3.35% × $14,250 = $477At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($48.05 × 2,080 h = $99,944). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Who must carry it
Any employeeIllinois requires employers to insure almost everyone they hire, or whose employment is localized in Illinois. Knowingly failing to insure can bring fines of up to $500 a day and a work-stop order. iwcc.illinois.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersWorkers’ compensation insurance is sold by private insurers; an employer no insurer will write can enroll in the NCCI-administered assigned risk plan (premiums about 50% higher), or get permission to self-insure. iwcc.illinois.gov
Owners
Sole proprietors, partners, corporate officers and LLC members may opt out (820 ILCS 305/3(17), 3(20)). To be covered they must buy insurance for themselves; to opt out when the business has a policy for other employees, they notify the insurer in writing under Section 3(17)(b). The Commission has no opt-out form. iwcc.illinois.gov
Construction
Construction is an extra-hazardous occupation that must be covered under Section 3 of the Act, and under the Employee Classification Act (820 ILCS 185) a construction business must obtain insurance in almost all instances. iwcc.illinois.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Paid leave and disability insurance

We found no state paid family and medical leave or temporary disability insurance program funded through payroll in Illinois on October 28, 2026. State paid sick leave rules, where they exist, are not covered here.

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 Illinois needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Illinois’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 $48.05$150.18$166.87→ $170
HVACwage $37.21$126.91$141.01→ $145
Electricalwage $47.87$149.79$166.44→ $170

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

Charge at least Example shop · Illinois

Charge at least $166.87 per billable hour; break-even $150.18.

Round up to $170 (+$3.13)

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 $166.87 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $82.14, taxes & benefits $21.43, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $16.69. Break-even line at $150.18. Rounded up to $170.12345$0Labor$103.57Break-even$150.18Your rate$166.87Round up to$170
  1. Wage$99,944.00 ÷ 1,216.8 h$82.14
  2. Taxes & benefits26.09% of pay$21.43
  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$16.69
Break-even
$150.18
Profit per hour
$16.69
Revenue a year
$609,127

$150.18 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $166.87rounded up to $170

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $170 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$60.59per paid hour
Labor
$103.57per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
26.09%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $150.18 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $139.45, $10.73 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $147.44.
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$48.05 × 2,080 h = $99,944.00
  4. Employer taxes and comp$6,196.53 SS + $1,449.19 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $477.38 SUTA + $2,668.50 comp = $10,833.60
  5. Benefits$99,944.00 × 15.25% = $15,241.46
  6. Labor per billable hour$126,019.06 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $103.57
  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$103.57 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $150.18
  10. Rate at 10% profit$150.18 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $166.87

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 Illinois3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$48.05/hr
Illinois median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate New employer
3.35%
New-employer rate, construction included (IDES, 2026) · IDES EA-50, 2026 (state agency override)
SUTA wage base Per tech
$14,250
Illinois · 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.

Illinois: pay, payroll taxes and licensesSee all 50 states and DC
Illinois: the fine print

Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES; EA-50, 11/2025): 2026 entry rate 3.350%, which includes the 0.550% Fund Building Rate; DOL’s table shows 2.80%, so the state figure is used. Only NAICS 56 (administrative support and waste management) pays more (3.450%); IDES lists no higher construction rate for 2026.

NAICS is the federal industry code; plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors are 2382, construction as a whole is 23.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Illinois 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+26.09% of pay

Filled: Illinois new-employer rate, IDES EA-50, 2026 (state agency override). Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Illinois, 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$60.59per paid hour · burden 26.09%

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: $166.87 per billable hour · break-even $150.18. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Illinois’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
Not taxedA construction contractor owes no Retailers’ Occupation Tax on labor and materials built into a structure, heating, ventilation and electrical systems included, and can’t charge tax to customers.Breaking out materials and labor on the contract doesn’t change this. Stoves, refrigerators, washers and dryers stay personal property unless built in, so selling them is a taxable sale.
Materials
Contractor, when buyingThe contractor is the end user and pays use tax on its cost of materials and fixtures; a business acting only as a contractor can’t buy them for resale.

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

State license

Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) – Plumbing Program

Illinois Plumber's License (individual) plus annual Plumbing Contractor Registration for the business

Individuals who plan, inspect, install, alter, extend, repair, and maintain plumbing systems in Illinois must be licensed; plumbing contractors (licensed plumbers performing work for another person) must register with the state and pay an annual fee.

FeeAmount
Plumber's license examination fee(applicant licensed as Illinois apprentice)one-time (per exam)$175
Plumbing contractor annual registration feeper year$150
Plumber's license fee (initial or renewal)per year (renew by April 30)$150

Exam fee is $225 for applicants registered/licensed in another state; re-exam $175. Contractor registration reinstatement fee $100. 68 Ill. Adm. Code 750.1100 (amended eff. Sept 23, 2014) and 77 Ill. Adm. Code 894.80 (amended eff. Nov 12, 2014). The IDPH contractor form says registrations expire September 30. Contractors must also file a $20,000 surety bond (or letter of credit) and carry liability and workers' compensation insurance (not state fees).

Keeping the license

Renewal
Illinois plumber licenses from the Department of Public Health renew every year by April 30; plumbing contractor registrations also renew annually ($150). dph.illinois.gov
Continuing ed.
Each licensed plumber must complete 4 hours of IDPH-approved continuing education for every annual renewal after the first license (225 ILCS 320/3). ilga.gov
Reciprocity
IDPH lists no reciprocity with other states; its only reciprocity application is for plumbers licensed by the City of Chicago. Out-of-state plumbers take the state exam. dph.illinois.gov · ilga.gov

Sources read

HVAC

Check with the state

We found no state license for this trade in Illinois, and no official page saying it is licensed only locally. Check with your city or county building department.

Electrical

No state license

No state license; municipalities may require electrical contractor registration (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1)

The corporate authorities of each municipality may require the registration of electrical contractors and impose an annual $25 registration fee; a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register in another (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1).

State law (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1) lets a municipality require electrical contractors to register and charge an annual $25 registration fee (a local fee, not a state license fee). A bill to create a state Electrician Licensing Act (SB2307) has not passed (last action Feb 7, 2025: referred to Assignments). Home-rule cities may set their own licensing rules (not reviewed).

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
A licensed plumber who works for others must also register each year as a plumbing contractor with the Illinois Department of Public Health ($150 a year), with a $20,000 bond and insurance. Illinois has no statewide general or HVAC contractor license; electrical contractor registration and general contractor licenses are local (for example the City of Chicago). dph.illinois.gov
Bond
$20,000Registered plumbing contractors must file a $20,000 indemnification bond, or a letter of credit for the same amount, naming the Illinois Department of Public Health (225 ILCS 320/13.1). ilga.gov
Insurance
$100,000Registered plumbing contractors must keep general liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence, $300,000 aggregate for bodily injury, $50,000 property damage (or a $300,000 combined single limit), and workers’ compensation with $500,000 employer’s liability; the registration is void without a current certificate (225 ILCS 320/13.1). ilga.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State and local Who licenses the trades in Illinois

Plumbers are licensed by the state (IDPH), but electrical licensing is local: municipalities may require electrical contractors to register (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1), and a statewide Electrician Licensing Act (SB 2307) has sat in committee since February 7, 2025. The City of Chicago issues its own electrical contractor, supervising electrician, general contractor and plumbing trade licenses. ilga.gov · chicago.gov

State and city pages read

What Illinois 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

770 ILCS 60/0.01 to 60/39Mechanics Lien Act

You, hired by the owner
On an owner-occupied single-family home, the contractor must give the owner, in the contract or a separate printed statement before the first payment, the boldface notice that the contractor must submit a sworn statement of everyone furnishing labor and materials before any payment is due (770 ILCS 60/5(b)). On every job the contractor owes the owner that sworn statement of subs and amounts before being paid (60/5(a)). ilga.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredA sub or supplier must serve written notice of its claim on the owner (and the lender, if known) within 90 days after completing its work, by certified or registered mail, tracked national courier or personal service (770 ILCS 60/24). On an existing owner-occupied single-family home, the sub must also notify the occupant within 60 days after first furnishing; a later notice protects the lien only to the extent the owner has not already paid (60/21(c)). ilga.gov
File the lien
4 monthsRecord the lien claim with the county recorder (or sue) within 4 months after completion to keep it good against other creditors, lenders and buyers; against the owner alone you have up to 2 years after completion (770 ILCS 60/7(a)). On an owner-occupied single-family home, give the owner written notice within 10 days after recording the lien (60/7(d)). ilga.gov
Enforce it
2 yearsFile suit to enforce the lien in circuit court within 2 years (24 months) after completion of the contract or of the extra work (770 ILCS 60/9). ilga.gov
Homes
Owner-occupied single-family homes get extra protections: the contractor’s boldface sworn-statement notice before the first payment (770 ILCS 60/5(b)), written notice to the owner within 10 days after a contractor records a lien or the lien is cut by the owner’s damages (60/7(d)), and the sub’s 60-day notice to the occupant (60/21(c)). ilga.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesOn private jobs (except single-family homes and residential buildings of 12 or fewer units), the owner must pay an approved pay application within 15 days, and an application is deemed approved 25 days after receipt unless the owner gives a written reason for withholding; contractors must pay subs within 15 days after being paid (815 ILCS 603/10). Late payments carry 10% per year interest, and after 7 days’ written notice the unpaid party may suspend work (603/15). ilga.gov
Retainage
Capped at 10%Under the Contractor Prompt Payment Act, retainage may be up to 10% of each payment until the job is 50% complete, then must be cut so no more than 5% is held (815 ILCS 603/20); retainage received must be passed down to subs within 15 days (603/10(2)). The Act excludes public jobs, single-family homes and residential buildings with 12 or fewer units (603/5). ilga.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Illinois

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 Chicago O’Hare, month by month.

Heating degree days
5,974
Cooling degree days
1,003
Nights ≤ 32 °F
121
Days ≥ 90 °F
17
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Chicago O’Hare, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan1,234028
Feb1,015024
Mar808220
Apr46886
May19860–
Jun31199–
Jul2326–
Aug4277–
Sep77116–
Oct355153
Nov713015
Dec1,069025

Heating carries the load at Chicago O’Hare: 5,974 heating degree days a year against 1,003 cooling degree days, peaking in January (1,234).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are June and September (231 and 193 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 121 a year, ten or more a month in November through March; 7 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 17 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Illinois’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 6,168 heating and 882 cooling degree days — 17th for heating and 23rd for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Chicago O’Hare (USW00094846), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 1,234 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 (ides.illinois.gov)Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) · 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. Compliance Alert CA-2015-14Illinois Department of Revenue · June 2015 · read October 24, 2026
  7. Illinois Sales & Use Tax Matrix (PIO-101)Illinois Department of Revenue · R-01/26 · read October 24, 2026
  8. 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1940, Construction Contractors and Real Estate DevelopersIllinois Department of Revenue (Illinois Administrative Code) · effective October 2, 2000 · read October 24, 2026
  9. 770 ILCS 60/0.01 to 60/39 — Mechanics Lien ActOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  10. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsIllinois Workers' Compensation Commission · read November 4, 2026
  11. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Chicago O’Hare (USW00094846)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  12. Population-weighted daily heating and cooling degree day normals, 1981–2010 (states and CONUS)NOAA National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center · read November 4, 2026