Reference · State of North Dakota
What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in North Dakota, 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 $21.89, 25th $23.92, median $30.56, 75th $36.95, 90th $40.17 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.
HVACU.S. median $29.33
HVAC techs: 10th percentile $22.41, 25th $27.29, median $35.81, 75th $37.94, 90th $45.22 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.
ElectricalU.S. median $30.38
electricians: 10th percentile $22.33, 25th $27.36, median $31.59, 75th $38.71, 90th $48.57 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.
| Percentile | Plumbing | HVAC | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $21.89 | $22.41 | $22.33 |
| 25th | $23.92 | $27.29 | $27.36 |
| Median | $30.56 | $35.81 | $31.59 |
| 75th | $36.95 | $37.94 | $38.71 |
| 90th | $40.17 | $45.22 | $48.57 |
| Mean | $31.81 | $33.66 | $33.87 |
| U.S. median | $30.67 | $29.33 | $30.38 |
| vs U.S. | −0.4% | +22.1% | +4.0% |
| Rank | 28th | 8th | 24th |
| Jobs | 1,620 | 970 | 3,570 |
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 Dakota 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.
Job Service ND, 2026 rate schedules: non-construction new employers pay 1.00% with a positive balance or 6.07% with a negative balance. Construction employers: 9.67%.
Per tech, a year 9.67% × $46,600 = $4,506At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($30.56 × 2,080 h = $63,565). 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 Dakota 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.
The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with North Dakota’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 $30.56 | $115.95 | $128.83→ $130 |
| HVACwage $35.81 | $127.22 | $141.35→ $145 |
| Electricalwage $31.59 | $118.16 | $131.29→ $135 |
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 Dakota: 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 Dakota
Charge at least $128.83 per billable hour; break-even $115.95.
Round up to $130 (+$1.17)
See it drawn to scale$115.95 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $128.83rounded up to $130
Price your tasks at $130 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.
What moves your rate
What North Dakota’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; local rules may add more
North Dakota State Plumbing Board
Master Plumber license
No person, firm, corporation or LLC may engage in the business of installing plumbing where there is a public waterworks or sewerage system unless a licensed master plumber is in charge of the work; in cities of fewer than 1,000 people and in rural areas a licensed journeyman plumber may also do this work (NDCC 43-18-10).
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Master plumber examination feeper exam | $50 |
| Master plumber license renewal feeper year (expires December 31) | $200 |
The board’s renewal-fee page lists $200 for a master plumber; NDCC 43-18-17 makes the license valid for one year, expiring December 31. A separate initial license-issuance fee was not stated on the board pages. Separately, any contractor on a job over $4,000 also needs a North Dakota Secretary of State contractor license (new: Class A $450, B $300, C $225, D $100; annual renewal $90/$60/$45/$30, due March 1).
State license; local rules may add more
North Dakota Secretary of State
North Dakota contractor license (Class A-D) from the Secretary of State; HVAC trade licenses are issued by cities (e.g. Fargo)
Anyone doing a job whose cost exceeds $4,000 must be licensed as a contractor (NDCC ch. 43-07); Fargo says heating/air conditioning contractors must also be licensed through the city.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contractor license, Class D (jobs up to $100,000) - newuntil the next March 1 (a license issued in January or February runs to March 1 of the following year) | $100 |
| Contractor license, Class C (jobs up to $300,000) - newuntil the next March 1 (a license issued in January or February runs to March 1 of the following year) | $225 |
| Contractor license, Class B (jobs up to $500,000) - newuntil the next March 1 (a license issued in January or February runs to March 1 of the following year) | $300 |
| Contractor license, Class A (jobs over $500,000) - newuntil the next March 1 (a license issued in January or February runs to March 1 of the following year) | $450 |
| Contractor license renewal, Class Dper year (due March 1) | $30 |
| Contractor license renewal, Class Aper year (due March 1) | $90 |
Fees are for the general Secretary of State contractor license (classes by maximum job size); renewal Class B $60, Class C $45. Local mechanical/HVAC license fees are set by each city and are not included.
State license
North Dakota State Electrical Board
Master Electrician license (contracting master / master of record)
Only a master electrician or power limited electrician may enter a contract for the installation of electrical wiring (class B electricians only in limited cases); contracting masters also need the Secretary of State contractor license.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Master electrician license application feeone-time | $50 |
| Master electrician license / annual renewal feeper year (expires April 30) | $50 |
Exam fees are paid separately to the testing-center provider (NDAC 24.1-03-01-01); amount not stated on the board pages. Contracting electricians must carry liability insurance of at least $500,000. Separately, any contractor on a job over $4,000 also needs a North Dakota Secretary of State contractor license (new: Class A $450, B $300, C $225, D $100; annual renewal $90/$60/$45/$30, due March 1).
Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop
Board and statute pages read
State and local Who licenses the trades in North Dakota
Plumbers are licensed by the State Plumbing Board, but cities may require a municipal plumbing license or registration on top of the state license (NDCC 43-18-16). There is no state HVAC license: Fargo licenses plumbers and heating/air conditioning contractors itself, and HVAC mechanical and fuel gas licenses must be obtained in each jurisdiction. Electricians are licensed only by the State Electrical Board; a city ordinance may set stricter standards but applies only to board licensees (NDCC 43-09-21). ndlegis.gov · fargond.gov
State and city pages read
What North Dakota 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.D.C.C. ch. 35-27Construction 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 Fargo airport, month by month.
| Month | Heating | Cooling | Nights ≤ 32 °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1,730 | 0 | 31 |
| Feb | 1,445 | 0 | 27 |
| Mar | 1,172 | 0 | 27 |
| Apr | 661 | 1 | 16 |
| May | 291 | 29 | 3 |
| Jun | 60 | 116 | – |
| Jul | 17 | 195 | – |
| Aug | 32 | 149 | – |
| Sep | 198 | 49 | 1 |
| Oct | 609 | 4 | 12 |
| Nov | 1,065 | 0 | 26 |
| Dec | 1,527 | 0 | 31 |
Heating carries the load at Fargo airport: 8,806 heating degree days a year against 542 cooling degree days, peaking in January (1,730).
The lightest months for heating and cooling together are June and August (176 and 181 degree days).
Nights at or below 32 °F: about 172 a year, ten or more a month in October through April; 42 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 11 a year, the most in July.
Weighted by where North Dakota’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 9,103 heating and 384 cooling degree days — 1st for heating and 40th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).
Station: Fargo airport (USW00014914), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 1,730 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.