Reference · State of North Carolina
What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in North Carolina, 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 $18.69, 25th $22.38, median $27.44, 75th $30.43, 90th $36.47 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.
HVACU.S. median $29.33
HVAC techs: 10th percentile $18.16, 25th $22.52, median $27.53, 75th $30.92, 90th $37.10 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.
ElectricalU.S. median $30.38
electricians: 10th percentile $19.29, 25th $22.63, median $27.31, 75th $29.77, 90th $36.09 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.
| Percentile | Plumbing | HVAC | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $18.69 | $18.16 | $19.29 |
| 25th | $22.38 | $22.52 | $22.63 |
| Median | $27.44 | $27.53 | $27.31 |
| 75th | $30.43 | $30.92 | $29.77 |
| 90th | $36.47 | $37.10 | $36.09 |
| Mean | $27.27 | $27.60 | $27.33 |
| U.S. median | $30.67 | $29.33 | $30.38 |
| vs U.S. | −10.5% | −6.1% | −10.1% |
| Rank | 44th | 40th | 49th |
| Jobs | 14,510 | 15,230 | 21,640 |
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 North Carolina 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.
North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security (DES)
Per tech, a year 1.00% × $34,200 = $342At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($27.44 × 2,080 h = $57,075). The calculator uses the rate alone.
State pages read
Statute and agency pages read
We found no state paid family and medical leave or temporary disability insurance program funded through payroll in North Carolina 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.
The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with North Carolina’s median wage for each trade and its unemployment tax filled in. Your own numbers will differ; change them in the calculator below.
| Example shop | Break-even | Rate, 10% profit |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbingwage $27.44 | $105.83 | $117.59→ $120 |
| HVACwage $27.53 | $106.02 | $117.80→ $120 |
| Electricalwage $27.31 | $105.55 | $117.28→ $120 |
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 North Carolina: 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 · North Carolina
Charge at least $117.59 per billable hour; break-even $105.83.
Round up to $120 (+$2.41)
See it drawn to scale$105.83 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $117.59rounded up to $120
Price your tasks at $120 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.
What moves your rate
What North Carolina’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
North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Examination application fee (non-refundable, per exam)per exam | $150 |
| Annual contractor license renewal(plumbing, heating/A/C or fuel piping)per year (expires Dec. 31) | $150 |
After passing the exam you activate the license by sending the License Activation Form and fee within 45 days. State law sets the annual plumbing or heating license fee at no more than $150, and a person who passes the exam on or after Oct. 1 can license the rest of that year for half the usual fee (G.S. 87-22). Applicants who qualify through a license held in another state under the military and universal-licensure rules pay a $30 application fee plus the $150 annual license fee. Late renewal processing fee $25 after Jan. 31.
State license
NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors
Electrical contractor license: Limited, Intermediate or Unlimited classification (plus special restricted classes)
No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall engage, or offer to engage, in the business of electrical contracting in North Carolina without a license in the applicable classification from the Board (G.S. 87-43).
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application & exam fee (all classifications)per exam | $125 |
| Unlimited license feeper year | $200 |
| Intermediate license fee (projects up to $150,000)per year | $150 |
| Limited license fee (projects up to $60,000)per year | $100 |
Licenses expire one year after issuance (G.S. 87-44); renewal is at the same annual license fee; $25 administrative fee for late renewal. Exams are given through PSI.
Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop
Board and statute pages read
State license only Who licenses the trades in North Carolina
Plumbing, heating (HVAC) and electrical contractors are licensed statewide by state boards; no one may engage in electrical contracting anywhere in North Carolina without the state board’s license (G.S. 87-43). Local governments issue building permits and may not issue one for work that law requires a licensed specialty contractor to do unless a licensed contractor will perform it (G.S. 160D-1110). ncleg.gov
State and city pages read
What North Carolina 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.
N.C.G.S. §§44A-7 to 44A-24Chapter 44A – Article 2. Statutory Liens on Real Property
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 Charlotte airport, month by month.
| Month | Heating | Cooling | Nights ≤ 32 °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 712 | 0 | 17 |
| Feb | 541 | 2 | 12 |
| Mar | 392 | 10 | 6 |
| Apr | 163 | 47 | 1 |
| May | 39 | 165 | – |
| Jun | 2 | 348 | – |
| Jul | 0 | 468 | – |
| Aug | 0 | 423 | – |
| Sep | 13 | 244 | – |
| Oct | 152 | 54 | 1 |
| Nov | 415 | 6 | 7 |
| Dec | 631 | 1 | 14 |
Charlotte airport has two working seasons: 3,058 heating and 1,769 cooling degree days a year, heating peaking in January and cooling in July.
The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and October (204 and 205 degree days).
Nights at or below 32 °F: about 58 a year, ten or more a month in December through February. Days reaching 90 °F: about 49 a year, the most in July.
Weighted by where North Carolina’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 3,434 heating and 1,492 cooling degree days — 38th for heating and 12th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).
Station: Charlotte airport (USW00013881), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 712 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.