Trade Price Book
MenuClose

Reference · State of Ohio

Ohio trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Ohio, 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
$30.45/h−0.7% vs the U.S.29th of 51
HVAC median
$30.06/h+2.5% vs the U.S.19th of 51
Electrical median
$31.11/h+2.4% vs the U.S.27th of 51
New-employer SUTA
2.85%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 Ohio

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 $21.86, 25th $24.06, median $30.45, 75th $40.51, 90th $48.75 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $18.57, 25th $23.27, median $30.06, 75th $37.59, 90th $47.26 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $19.59, 25th $24.10, median $31.11, 75th $38.70, 90th $47.73 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 Ohio, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$21.86$18.57$19.59
25th$24.06$23.27$24.10
Median$30.45$30.06$31.11
75th$40.51$37.59$38.70
90th$48.75$47.26$47.73
Mean$33.51$31.73$33.09
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.−0.7%+2.5%+2.4%
Rank29th19th27th
Jobs16,39014,15028,950

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 Ohio 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)

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Office of Unemployment Insurance Operations

Wage base
$9,000 per employee a year
New-employer rate
2.85%
Construction
5.85%for new construction employers

ODJFS (published 2026-03-13): the 2026 new-employer rate is 2.85%; DOL’s table shows 2.70%, so the state figure is used. Construction employers: 5.85%. For 2026 and 2027, rates include a 0.15% Technology and Customer Service Fee on wages up to $9,000.

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 5.85% × $9,000 = $527At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($30.45 × 2,080 h = $63,336). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)

Who must carry it
Any employeeEvery Ohio private employer with one or more employees regularly in the same business must carry workers’ compensation (R.C. 4123.01(A)(1)(b), (B)(1)(b)). Household and casual workers count once they earn $160 or more in cash in a calendar quarter from one employer. codes.ohio.gov · dam.assets.ohio.gov
Where to buy it
State fund onlyOhio state insurance fund (Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation)Private employers pay their premium into Ohio’s state insurance fund, administered by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, unless the BWC approves them to self-insure (R.C. 4123.35); private insurers do not sell Ohio workers’ compensation. codes.ohio.gov
Owners
Coverage is optional for sole proprietors, partners, LLCs acting as a sole proprietorship or partnership, individuals incorporated as a corporation with no employees, and family-farm corporate officers; they elect it by filing form U-3S with the BWC, effective the date BWC receives it (R.C. 4123.01(A)(2)). Officers of a corporation with more than one owner/officer are statutory employees and must be covered and reported on payroll. codes.ohio.gov · dam.assets.ohio.gov
Construction
A person working under a construction contract is an employee for workers’ comp if at least ten of the twenty control factors listed in R.C. 4123.01(A)(1)(c) apply (for example, being told how to do the work, paid hourly, or given tools). Employees of an independent contractor or subcontractor that has not paid its state-fund premium are treated as employees of the party that hired that contractor. codes.ohio.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 Ohio 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 Ohio needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Ohio’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 $30.45$112.44$124.93→ $125
HVACwage $30.06$111.60$124.00→ $125
Electricalwage $31.11$113.86$126.51→ $130

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

Charge at least Example shop · Ohio

Charge at least $124.93 per billable hour; break-even $112.44.

Round up to $125 (+$0.07)

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 $124.93 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $52.05, taxes & benefits $13.78, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $12.49. Break-even line at $112.44. Rounded up to $125.12345$0Labor$65.83Break-even$112.44Your rate$124.93Round up to$125
  1. Wage$63,336.00 ÷ 1,216.8 h$52.05
  2. Taxes & benefits26.47% of pay$13.78
  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$12.49
Break-even
$112.44
Profit per hour
$12.49
Revenue a year
$456,062

$112.44 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $124.93rounded 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
$38.51per paid hour
Labor
$65.83per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
26.47%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $112.44 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $104.41, $8.03 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $109.70.
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$30.45 × 2,080 h = $63,336.00
  4. Employer taxes and comp$3,926.83 SS + $918.37 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $526.50 SUTA + $1,691.07 comp = $7,104.78
  5. Benefits$63,336.00 × 15.25% = $9,658.74
  6. Labor per billable hour$80,099.52 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $65.83
  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$65.83 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $112.44
  10. Rate at 10% profit$112.44 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $124.93

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 Ohio3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$30.45/hr
Ohio median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate Construction
5.85%
Construction rate; other new employers pay 2.85% · ODJFS, 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$9,000
Ohio · 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.

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

ODJFS (published 2026-03-13): the 2026 new-employer rate is 2.85%; DOL’s table shows 2.70%, so the state figure is used. Construction employers: 5.85%. For 2026 and 2027, rates include a 0.15% Technology and Customer Service Fee on wages up to $9,000.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Ohio 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+26.47% of pay

Filled: Ohio construction rate, ODJFS, 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Ohio, 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$38.51per paid hour · burden 26.47%

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: $124.93 per billable hour · break-even $112.44. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Ohio’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 taxedContractors and home remodelers don’t collect sales tax on their work; they pay sales tax on the supplies they buy.Repairing or installing tangible personal property (items that don’t become part of the building) is taxable, and the Department of Taxation names HVAC repair among the affected trades. Cleaning ventilating systems, furnaces and ductwork included, is a taxable janitorial service once a provider sells $5,000 a year.
Materials
Contractor, when buyingA contractor that buys materials to incorporate into real property is the consumer and pays sales or use tax on them.

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; local rules may add more

Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB), Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance

  • Plumbing Plumbing Contractor license (commercial)
  • HVAC HVAC Contractor license (commercial); Refrigeration and Hydronics contractor licenses are separate
  • Electrical Electrical Contractor license (commercial)

No person may act as a plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronics or electrical contractor without holding or being assigned an OCILB license (ORC 4740.13); it covers commercial work, and local building departments may require it for residential work.

FeeAmount
Application for examinationone-time (per trade)$25
Examination fee (paid to PSI)per exam per trade$69
License issuance feeone-time$25
Annual renewalper year$60
Triennial renewal3 years$180

Exam fee is collected by PSI, not the board; the $69 figure is from the board’s 2024 answers to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s review of occupational licenses and may have changed; the current exam application does not list the PSI fee. Late renewal fee up to $120. Licensees must carry at least $500,000 contractor liability insurance.

Plumbing Ohio also licenses Hydronics contractors separately.

Keeping the license

Renewal
All OCILB licenses a contractor holds expire every year on the same date, the expiration date of the original license, and may be renewed up to 90 days before expiration with proof of continuing education (ORC 4740.06(H)). Licensees in the board’s compliant contractor program may instead renew every three years (OAC 4101:16-1-08); the renewal fee is $60 a year or $180 for three years. codes.ohio.gov
Continuing ed.
Plumbing and HVACAn OCILB licensee must complete 10 classroom hours of approved continuing education each year to renew (OAC 4101:16-2-08); plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration and hydronics licensees may take any course approved by any specialty section. Members of the compliant contractor program need 8 hours for an annual renewal or 24 hours for a three-year renewal. codes.ohio.govElectricalAn OCILB licensee must complete 10 classroom hours of approved continuing education each year to renew (OAC 4101:16-2-08); an electrical-only licensee needs at least 5 hours of electrical code and the other 5 in health and safety, business or technology courses approved by the electrical section. Members of the compliant contractor program need 8 hours for an annual renewal or 24 hours for a three-year renewal. codes.ohio.gov
Reciprocity
PlumbingUnder written reciprocity agreements (ORC 4740.08), OCILB grants a plumbing contractor license to applicants licensed by exam in Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia; Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee also require Ohio’s Business and Law exam. Applicants must have passed the other state’s recognized test (Tennessee also accepts Ohio grandfathered licensees). com.ohio.govHVACUnder written reciprocity agreements (ORC 4740.08), OCILB grants a HVAC contractor license to applicants licensed by exam in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia; Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee also require Ohio’s Business and Law exam. Applicants must have passed the other state’s recognized test (Tennessee also accepts Ohio grandfathered licensees). com.ohio.govElectricalUnder written reciprocity agreements (ORC 4740.08), OCILB grants a electrical contractor license to applicants licensed by exam in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and Texas; Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee also require Ohio’s Business and Law exam. Applicants must have passed the other state’s recognized test (Tennessee also accepts Ohio grandfathered licensees). com.ohio.gov

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
Ohio has no statewide general contractor, residential contractor or home-improvement registration beyond the OCILB trade license for plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronics and electrical contractors. Contractor registration is local: under ORC 4740.12 a city or county that registers contractors in these trades must also require the OCILB license. codes.ohio.gov · com.ohio.gov
Bond
Neither ORC chapter 4740 nor the OCILB rules require a surety bond for the plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronics or electrical contractor license; the renewal requirements are liability insurance, the fee and continuing education (OAC 4101:16-2-07, 4101:16-2-09). codes.ohio.gov · com.ohio.gov
Insurance
$500,000Every active OCILB license holder must carry contractor’s liability insurance, including completed operations coverage, of at least $500,000, in the name of the one business entity the license is assigned to (OAC 4101:16-2-09(D)). Proof is no longer filed with renewals, but the licensee certifies the coverage at renewal; licenses in inactive (escrow) status need no insurance. codes.ohio.gov · com.ohio.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State and local Who licenses the trades in Ohio

The state OCILB license covers commercial plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronics and electrical contractors, and local building departments may also require it for residential work. Cities may regulate these trades and register tradespersons, but any local contractor registration must also require the OCILB license (ORC 4740.12). Columbus requires the state license for these contractors and licenses journeyperson plumbers itself. com.ohio.gov · codes.ohio.gov · columbus.gov

State and city pages read

What Ohio 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

Ohio Rev. Code ch. 1311 (§§ 1311.01–1311.22)Chapter 1311 Mechanics and Other Liens

You, hired by the owner
No notice to startAn original contractor who contracts directly with the owner does not serve a notice of furnishing (§ 1311.05(A)); the only owner notice is a copy of the lien affidavit, served within 30 days after filing it (§ 1311.07). codes.ohio.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredOnce a notice of commencement is recorded, a subcontractor or supplier must serve a notice of furnishing on the owner’s designee named in it and on the original contractor within 21 days after first furnishing labor or materials (§ 1311.05); a late notice covers only work in the 21 days before it was served and after. Suppliers in direct contract with the owner are exempt. codes.ohio.gov
File the lien
75 daysFile the lien affidavit with the county recorder within 75 days after your last labor or materials; for a one- or two-family dwelling or a condominium unit the deadline is 60 days (§ 1311.06(B)). The same deadlines apply to subs. codes.ohio.gov
Enforce it
6 yearsThe lien lasts 6 years after the affidavit is filed, and continues while a suit filed within that time is pending (§ 1311.13(C)); if the owner or another interested party serves a notice to commence suit, you must sue within 60 days after service or the lien is void (§ 1311.11). codes.ohio.gov
Homes
On a home construction contract (a one- or two-family home or condo unit the owner uses as a residence), no contractor, sub, supplier or laborer has a lien if the owner paid the original contractor in full before receiving a copy of a lien affidavit (§ 1311.011(B)(1)); the filing deadline for these dwellings is 60 days, not 75. codes.ohio.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesUnder Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.61 a contractor must pay its subs and suppliers within 10 calendar days after receiving the owner’s payment for their work, or owe 18% per year interest from the 11th day; lower tiers follow the same rule. The section does not apply to single-, two- or three-family detached houses, and it sets no owner-to-contractor deadline. codes.ohio.gov
Retainage
Ohio sets no private-job retainage cap, but § 4113.61(A)(3) requires a contractor to pay each sub its share of final retainage within 10 calendar days after receiving it from the owner (or sooner if the contract says so), with 18% per year interest if late; not for single- to three-family detached houses. codes.ohio.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Ohio

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 Columbus airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
5,233
Cooling degree days
1,068
Nights ≤ 32 °F
103
Days ≥ 90 °F
21
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Columbus airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan1,099025
Feb910022
Mar729217
Apr367124
May13884–
Jun16223–
Jul1323–
Aug3282–
Sep61125–
Oct323182
Nov641012
Dec947022

Heating carries the load at Columbus airport: 5,233 heating degree days a year against 1,068 cooling degree days, peaking in January (1,099).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and September (222 and 186 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 103 a year, ten or more a month in November through March; 2 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 21 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Ohio’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 5,860 heating and 753 cooling degree days — 21st for heating and 28th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Columbus airport (USW00014821), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 1,099 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 (jfs.ohio.gov)Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Office of Unemployment Insurance Operations · 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. Sales and Use TaxabilityOhio Department of Taxation · no date shown · read October 24, 2026
  7. Ohio Sales Tax for Construction Contractors (presentation)Ohio Department of Taxation · November 17, 2022 · read October 24, 2026
  8. Ohio Rev. Code ch. 1311 (§§ 1311.01–1311.22) — Chapter 1311 Mechanics and Other LiensOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  9. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsOhio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) · read November 4, 2026
  10. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Columbus airport (USW00014821)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