Reference · State of Oklahoma
What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Oklahoma, 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 $18.26, 25th $21.78, median $27.87, 75th $35.69, 90th $39.69 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.
HVACU.S. median $29.33
HVAC techs: 10th percentile $17.33, 25th $21.25, median $27.67, 75th $34.67, 90th $38.30 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.
ElectricalU.S. median $30.38
electricians: 10th percentile $18.22, 25th $22.90, median $29.33, 75th $36.78, 90th $44.59 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.
| Percentile | Plumbing | HVAC | Electrical |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $18.26 | $17.33 | $18.22 |
| 25th | $21.78 | $21.25 | $22.90 |
| Median | $27.87 | $27.67 | $29.33 |
| 75th | $35.69 | $34.67 | $36.78 |
| 90th | $39.69 | $38.30 | $44.59 |
| Mean | $28.35 | $27.71 | $30.49 |
| U.S. median | $30.67 | $29.33 | $30.38 |
| vs U.S. | −9.1% | −5.7% | −3.5% |
| Rank | 42nd | 39th | 39th |
| Jobs | 6,050 | 5,650 | 8,500 |
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 Oklahoma 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.
Per tech, a year 1.50% × $25,000 = $375At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($27.87 × 2,080 h = $57,970). 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma’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 $27.87 | $106.78 | $118.64→ $120 |
| HVACwage $27.67 | $106.35 | $118.17→ $120 |
| Electricalwage $29.33 | $109.91 | $122.13→ $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).
The labor rate calculator, opened on Oklahoma: 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 · Oklahoma
Charge at least $118.64 per billable hour; break-even $106.78.
Round up to $120 (+$1.36)
See it drawn to scale$106.78 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $118.64rounded up to $120
Price your tasks at $120 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.
What moves your rate
What Oklahoma’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
Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB)
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contractor application feeone-time | $30 |
| Examination fee (PSI, each examination portion)per exam portion | $92 |
| Initial contractor licenseone-time (license runs to end of birth month, max 1 year) | $300 |
| Contractor license renewalper year | $200 |
Licenses last no more than one year and expire on the last day of the licensee’s birth month. Exam fee is paid to PSI per examination portion (per the PSI bulletin posted on the CIB site, effective 9/11/2026). Contractors must also file a bond and insurance with CIB to activate the license.
Plumbing Late renewal fee $100 (OAC 158:30-9-2).
HVAC Fees are from the CIB-posted copy of OAC 158:50 (effective 10/1/2020). Late renewal fee $100.
Electrical Renewal with late fee is $300 total (OAC 158:40-9-3, effective 07/11/2026).
Sources read
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 Oklahoma
Plumbing, mechanical and electrical contractors are licensed by the state Construction Industries Board; cities keep authority over plumbing inspection and codes (59 O.S. 1020), but state bonding and insurance rules preclude municipal requirements. Cities do not issue their own trade licenses, but Oklahoma City requires state-licensed electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors to also register with the city to work within city limits. okc.gov · oklahoma.gov
State and city pages read
What Oklahoma 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.
42 O.S. §§ 141–154, 172Title 42. Liens — Mechanics’ and Materialmen’s Liens
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 Oklahoma City airport, month by month.
| Month | Heating | Cooling | Nights ≤ 32 °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 832 | 0 | 22 |
| Feb | 637 | 1 | 15 |
| Mar | 437 | 9 | 6 |
| Apr | 206 | 35 | 1 |
| May | 50 | 151 | – |
| Jun | 1 | 357 | – |
| Jul | 0 | 518 | – |
| Aug | 0 | 485 | – |
| Sep | 20 | 251 | – |
| Oct | 177 | 56 | 1 |
| Nov | 478 | 4 | 8 |
| Dec | 776 | 0 | 19 |
Oklahoma City airport has two working seasons: 3,615 heating and 1,867 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 (201 and 233 degree days).
Nights at or below 32 °F: about 72 a year, ten or more a month in December through February. Days reaching 90 °F: about 74 a year, the most in July.
Weighted by where Oklahoma’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 3,593 heating and 1,896 cooling degree days — 37th for heating and 7th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).
Station: Oklahoma City airport (USW00013967), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 832 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.