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Reference · State of Nebraska

Nebraska trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Nebraska, 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
$29.31/h−4.4% vs the U.S.37th of 51
HVAC median
$28.77/h−1.9% vs the U.S.32nd of 51
Electrical median
$29.24/h−3.8% vs the U.S.42nd of 51
New-employer SUTA
1.25%on the first $9,000
Payroll programs
Noneno paid-leave or disability program found
Sales tax on labor
Not taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Nebraska

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 $20.59, 25th $23.21, median $29.31, 75th $39.38, 90th $47.13 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $20.93, 25th $22.96, median $28.77, 75th $35.66, 90th $39.00 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $19.42, 25th $23.14, median $29.24, 75th $38.04, 90th $45.21 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 Nebraska, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$20.59$20.93$19.42
25th$23.21$22.96$23.14
Median$29.31$28.77$29.24
75th$39.38$35.66$38.04
90th$47.13$39.00$45.21
Mean$31.59$29.35$30.75
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.−4.4%−1.9%−3.8%
Rank37th32nd42nd
Jobs4,1103,0206,440

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 Nebraska 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)

Nebraska Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Tax

Wage base
$9,000 per employee a year
New-employer rate
1.25%
Construction
5.40%for new construction employers

Construction employers: 5.40% (Nebraska DOL, 2026 combined tax rates). Category 20 employers pay on a $24,000 wage base instead of $9,000.

Per tech, a year 5.40% × $9,000 = $486At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($29.31 × 2,080 h = $60,965). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court

Who must carry it
Any employeeThe Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act applies to every employer, resident or nonresident, that employs one or more employees in its regular trade or business (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106(1)); the Workers’ Compensation Court says this includes part-time employees and minors. Household domestic servants and some farm work are excluded. nebraskalegislature.gov · newcc.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersNebraska has no state fund: coverage must be bought from a private insurer licensed by the Nebraska Department of Insurance, or the employer must be approved by the Workers’ Compensation Court to self-insure (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145). Employers that cannot get coverage in the voluntary market can get it through the Nebraska Workers Compensation Insurance Plan (NWCIP). newcc.gov
Owners
Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members who work in the business substantially full time are covered only if they elect coverage in writing filed with the insurer (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115(10)). A corporate executive officer who owns less than 25% of the stock is an employee; an officer owning 25% or more is not covered unless he or she elects coverage in writing filed with the corporation’s secretary and the insurer (48-115(9)). nebraskalegislature.gov
Construction
An owner or contractor that uses a scheme to get work done without being responsible for workers’ compensation is jointly liable with the direct employer; an owner or prime contractor that lets work to a subcontractor in good faith is protected only if it requires the subcontractor to carry a policy from an insurer licensed in Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-116). nebraskalegislature.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 Nebraska 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 construction 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 Nebraska needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Nebraska’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 $29.31$109.96$122.18→ $125
HVACwage $28.77$108.80$120.89→ $125
Electricalwage $29.24$109.81$122.01→ $125

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

Charge at least Example shop · Nebraska

Charge at least $122.18 per billable hour; break-even $109.96.

Round up to $125 (+$2.82)

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 $122.18 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $50.10, taxes & benefits $13.25, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $12.22. Break-even line at $109.96. Rounded up to $125.12345$0Labor$63.35Break-even$109.96Your rate$122.18Round up to$125
  1. Wage$60,964.80 ÷ 1,216.8 h$50.10
  2. Taxes & benefits26.44% of pay$13.25
  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$12.22
Break-even
$109.96
Profit per hour
$12.22
Revenue a year
$446,002

$109.96 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $122.18rounded up to $125

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $125 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$37.06per paid hour
Labor
$63.35per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
26.44%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $109.96 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $102.11, $7.85 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $107.22.
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$29.31 × 2,080 h = $60,964.80
  4. Employer taxes and comp$3,779.82 SS + $883.99 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $486.00 SUTA + $1,627.76 comp = $6,819.57
  5. Benefits$60,964.80 × 15.25% = $9,297.13
  6. Labor per billable hour$77,081.50 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $63.35
  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$63.35 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $109.96
  10. Rate at 10% profit$109.96 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $122.18

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 Nebraska3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$29.31/hr
Nebraska median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate Construction
5.40%
Construction rate; other new employers pay 1.25% · Nebraska DOL, 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$9,000
Nebraska · 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.

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

Construction employers: 5.40% (Nebraska DOL, 2026 combined tax rates). Category 20 employers pay on a $24,000 wage base instead of $9,000.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Nebraska 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+26.44% of pay

Filled: Nebraska construction rate, Nebraska DOL, 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Nebraska, 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$37.06per paid hour · burden 26.44%

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: $122.18 per billable hour · break-even $109.96. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Nebraska’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 taxedContractor labor charges haven’t been taxable since October 1, 2007, but an Option 1 contractor that doesn’t separately state its labor is taxed on the whole charge.Cleaning a fixture annexed to a building (furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, ductwork, sewer, drain) is a taxable building cleaning service, whatever the contractor’s option.
Materials
Depends on the job or contractIt depends on the option the contractor elects: Option 1 (the default) charges customers tax on materials; Option 2 and 3 contractors pay the tax on their purchases.

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

No state license

No state license; plumber licenses are issued by city/village plumbing boards (Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-1901 to 18-1905)

City and village plumbing boards examine all persons who desire a license to work at the construction or repairing of plumbing within the city or village (Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-1904).

No state fee; local fees vary (not researched).

Sources read

HVAC and Electrical

State license

Nebraska State Electrical Division (State Electrical Board)

  • HVAC Special Installer (Heating/AC/Refrigeration) electrical license - covers the electrical wiring of air-conditioning and refrigeration installations onlyA special electrician is licensed by the board for special classes of electrical wiring, including air conditioning and refrigeration installation (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2102(17)); the Division holds in-office HVAC specialty exams.
  • Electrical Electrical Contractor licenseAn electrical contractor is licensed by the board to plan, lay out, install and supervise installation of wiring, apparatus and equipment for light, heat and power (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2102(7)), anywhere in Nebraska (application form).
FeeAmount
HVAC · Special Installer (Heating/AC/Refrigeration) electrical license - covers the electrical wiring of air-conditioning and refrigeration installations only
Special installer application feeone-time$90
Heating/AC/Refrigeration license fee, 2025-2026 periodper year of the 2-year license period (issuance and renewal)$37.50
Electrical · Electrical Contractor license
Electrical contractor application feeone-time$180
Electrical contractor license fee if issued in an odd-numbered year(covers 2-year period)2 years$375
Electrical contractor license fee if issued in an even-numbered yearto Dec. 31 of that even year (1 year)$187.50
Electrical contractor issuance/renewal fee, 2025-2026per year of the 2-year license period$187.50

HVAC This is an electrical license for wiring air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment; it does not license the heating and cooling (mechanical) work itself. Per the 2025-2026 fee notice: Heating/AC/Refrigeration $37.50 for each year of the two-year period; the application shows $37.50 if issued in an even year and $75.00 if issued in an odd year. Licenses expire Dec. 31 of even-numbered years. Exam fee paid at the exam (amount not stated).

Electrical Renewal for a full 2-year period is therefore $375 (2 x $187.50). All licenses expire Dec. 31 of even-numbered years; 10% late fee for renewals Dec. 1-31. Exams are given by PSI; the Division’s pages do not list the exam fee.

Keeping the license

Renewal
HVACThe state special electrician license for heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration wiring, like all State Electrical Board licenses, runs two years and expires December 31 of each even-numbered year (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2118); there is no state HVAC mechanical license. nebraskalegislature.govElectricalAll electrical licenses expire December 31 of each even-numbered year (two-year cycle); renewal opens October 1 and a 10% late fee applies from December 1, and an expired license requires a new exam. nebraskalegislature.gov
Continuing ed.
HVACEvery State Electrical Board license, including the special electrician license, needs 12 contact hours of approved continuing education per two-year cycle, at least 6 on the National Electrical Code (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2117.01). nebraskalegislature.govElectricalLicensees need 12 hours of board-approved continuing education per two-year cycle, at least 6 of them on the National Electrical Code; apprentices are not required to take them. electrical.nebraska.gov
Reciprocity
HVACCheck with the boardThe official pages and rules we read on November 4, 2026 do not settle it.ElectricalThe State Electrical Board has reciprocity for the electrical contractor license with Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas, and for the journeyman license with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming; the other state’s exam must have been passed with 75% or more and the license held at least one year. electrical.nebraska.gov

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
Before doing any construction work in Nebraska, every contractor and subcontractor (including plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops) must register with the Nebraska Department of Labor under the Contractor Registration Act; people working on their own property or earning under $5,000 a year from construction are not covered (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104). The act has no trade exemption. nebraskalegislature.gov
Bond
No state surety bond is required for Nebraska electrical licenses or for contractor registration; the State Electrical Act sections on contractor qualifications, license expiration and fees and the Contractor Registration Act contain no bond requirement. nebraskalegislature.gov · electrical.nebraska.gov
Insurance
Nebraska sets no liability insurance minimum for getting or renewing an electrical contractor license or a contractor registration; the State Electrical Act mentions insurance only when a representative carries on a deceased licensee’s business (81-2119). nebraskalegislature.gov · electrical.nebraska.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State and local Who licenses the trades in Nebraska

Electrical licenses are issued by the State Electrical Board, and a city may not charge a state licensee a license fee or make him take its own exam (81-2130), though cities may run their own inspection programs. Plumbing has no state license: plumbers are examined and licensed by city plumbing boards, which state law creates in cities of the metropolitan class (Omaha) and allows in cities of the primary class (Lincoln) (Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-1901). Mechanical/HVAC work is likewise left to cities, apart from the state special electrician license for HVAC wiring. nebraskalegislature.gov

State and city pages read

What Nebraska 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

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§52-125 to 52-159Nebraska Construction Lien Act

You, hired by the owner
No notice to startNo notice is required of a prime contractor; the lien attaches and is enforceable once it is recorded within 120 days after final furnishing (Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-137(1)), and the claimant must send the contracting owner a copy of the recorded lien within 10 days after recording (§52-135(3)). nebraskalegislature.gov
Subs and suppliers
No preliminary noticeA notice of the right to assert a lien is optional, not a condition of the lien (Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-135(1)). But when the owner is a protected party (an individual who occupies or will occupy residential real estate of up to four units), a sub’s or supplier’s lien is limited to what the owner still owes on the prime contract when it receives that notice, so subs on homes should send it early (§§52-135(6), 52-136(2)). nebraskalegislature.gov
File the lien
120 daysRecord the lien with the register of deeds no later than 120 days after your final furnishing of services or materials (Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-137(1)); the same deadline applies to subs. nebraskalegislature.gov
Enforce it
2 yearsA recorded lien stays enforceable for two years after recording, so file the foreclosure suit within that time; if an owner or other interested person sends a written demand, the claimant must sue (or record an affidavit that the price is not yet due) within 30 days or the lien lapses (Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-140). nebraskalegislature.gov
Homes
When the contracting owner is a protected party, meaning an individual improving residential real estate of no more than four dwelling units that he or she occupies or intends to occupy (Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-129), the owner’s payments to the prime contractor made in good faith before receiving a sub’s notice or a copy of its recorded lien reduce what subs can lien for (§52-136(2), (5)). nebraskalegislature.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesUnder the Nebraska Construction Prompt Pay Act, the owner must pay the contractor within 30 days after receiving a payment request, and the contractor must pay subs within 10 days after receiving each payment (Neb. Rev. Stat. §45-1203); late amounts carry 1% per month interest once the payer has been notified of the act (§45-1205). The act does not apply to residential property of four or fewer units (§45-1207). nebraskalegislature.gov
Retainage
Capped at 10%Retainage may not exceed 10%, dropping to 5% of further payments once the scope of work is 50% complete if the contractor gives reasonable assurances (Neb. Rev. Stat. §45-1204(1)); the owner must release retainage within 45 days after substantial completion, and the contractor must pay subs their retainage within 10 days after receiving it (§45-1203(3)). Not for residential property of four or fewer units. nebraskalegislature.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Nebraska

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 Omaha airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
5,833
Cooling degree days
1,294
Nights ≤ 32 °F
134
Days ≥ 90 °F
33
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Omaha airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan1,258030
Feb1,009026
Mar745220
Apr386146
May13290–
Jun11278–
Jul1405–
Aug3335–
Sep71148–
Oct351214
Nov743019
Dec1,124029

Heating carries the load at Omaha airport: 5,833 heating degree days a year against 1,294 cooling degree days, peaking in January (1,258).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and September (223 and 219 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 134 a year, ten or more a month in November through March; 9 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 33 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Nebraska’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 6,319 heating and 969 cooling degree days — 16th for heating and 20th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Omaha airport (USW00014942), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 1,258 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 (dol.nebraska.gov)Nebraska Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Tax · 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. Nebraska Construction Contractors FAQsNebraska Department of Revenue · no date shown · read October 24, 2026
  7. Construction Contractor Taxability Check List (6-496)Nebraska Department of Revenue · Rev. 7-2019 · read October 24, 2026
  8. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§52-125 to 52-159 — Nebraska Construction Lien ActOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  9. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsNebraska Workers' Compensation Court · read November 4, 2026
  10. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Omaha airport (USW00014942)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  11. 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