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Reference · State of Oregon

Oregon trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Oregon, 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
$46.66/h+52.1% vs the U.S.3rd of 51
HVAC median
$30.26/h+3.2% vs the U.S.18th of 51
Electrical median
$48.71/h+60.3% vs the U.S.1st of 51
New-employer SUTA
2.40%on the first $56,700
Payroll programs
1 programPaid Leave Oregon
Sales tax on labor
No sales taxrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Oregon

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 $27.99, 25th $36.02, median $46.66, 75th $60.77, 90th $70.72 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $22.59, 25th $27.09, median $30.26, 75th $37.93, 90th $45.44 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $28.63, 25th $38.03, median $48.71, 75th $58.50, 90th $63.24 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 Oregon, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$27.99$22.59$28.63
25th$36.02$27.09$38.03
Median$46.66$30.26$48.71
75th$60.77$37.93$58.50
90th$70.72$45.44$63.24
Mean$47.33$32.90$47.96
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+52.1%+3.2%+60.3%
Rank3rd18th1st
Jobs5,3703,98010,590

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 Oregon 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)

Oregon Employment Department (OED), Unemployment Insurance Tax

Wage base
$56,700 per employee a year
New-employer rate
2.40%
Construction
No separate rate published

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 2.40% × $56,700 = $1,361At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($46.66 × 2,080 h = $97,053). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Workers' Compensation Division

Who must carry it
Any employeeEvery employer with one or more subject workers in Oregon must carry workers’ comp coverage (ORS 656.023, 656.017). A worker is anyone you pay to work for you who is not an independent contractor. oregonlegislature.gov · wcd.oregon.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurers or the state fundState Accident Insurance Fund Corporation (SAIF)Employers buy a policy from any of the 300-plus insurers authorized in Oregon, including the State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation (SAIF), an independent public corporation that insures employers “as fully as any private insurance carrier,” or qualify to self-insure (ORS 656.017, 656.751, 656.752). An employer no insurer will write can get coverage through the Oregon Assigned Risk Insurance Plan, administered by NCCI. oregonlegislature.gov · wcd.oregon.gov
Owners
Sole proprietors are not subject workers, and neither are LLC members or corporate officers who are directors with a substantial ownership interest (ORS 656.027(7), (9), (10)); when they work under contract, the business must qualify as an independent contractor to stay exempt. Partners are exempt only if not doing construction work on real property, and members of a multi-member LLC doing construction work are subject workers (ORS 656.027(8), (9)). Sole proprietors, LLC members and partners may apply in writing to an insurer to be covered (ORS 656.128). oregonlegislature.gov
Construction
For a business actively licensed by the Construction Contractors Board (ORS 701.021), partners, corporate officer-directors and LLC members with a substantial ownership interest may be exempt, but if they are not all close family the exemption is capped at the greater of two owners or one per 10 employees (ORS 656.027(23)-(25)). Whoever awards a contract for labor that is a normal part of its own business must cover the workers unless the contractor provides coverage before work starts, but that rule does not apply when the contractor holds a CCB license required for the work (ORS 656.029(1), 656.021). oregonlegislature.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Paid Leave Oregon

In effect in 2026 Oregon Employment Department - Paid Leave Oregon

Total rate
1.00%
Employer pays
40% of 1% = 0.4% for employers with 25+ employees; 0 for <25
Small employers
Fewer than 25 employees on average: no employer portion (unless an assistance grant was received in the last 2 years); must still withhold employee 0.6%
Wage cap
$184,500 a year per employee
Employees
Withholding of the employee 60% share is mandatory for all employers

Employer’s own cost, share of wages 5 employees: None20 employees: None

OED-approved equivalent plan allowed.

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.

What a shop in Oregon needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Oregon’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 $46.66$147.92$164.36→ $165
HVACwage $30.26$112.72$125.24→ $130
Electricalwage $48.71$152.32$169.25→ $170

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

Charge at least Example shop · Oregon

Charge at least $164.36 per billable hour; break-even $147.92.

Round up to $165 (+$0.64)

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 $164.36 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $79.76, taxes & benefits $21.55, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $16.44. Break-even line at $147.92. Rounded up to $165.12345$0Labor$101.31Break-even$147.92Your rate$164.36Round up to$165
  1. Wage$97,052.80 ÷ 1,216.8 h$79.76
  2. Taxes & benefits27.02% of pay$21.55
  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$16.44
Break-even
$147.92
Profit per hour
$16.44
Revenue a year
$599,970

$147.92 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $164.36rounded up to $165

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $165 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$59.27per paid hour
Labor
$101.31per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
27.02%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $147.92 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $137.36, $10.57 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $145.18.
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$46.66 × 2,080 h = $97,052.80
  4. Employer taxes and comp$6,017.27 SS + $1,407.27 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $1,360.80 SUTA + $2,591.31 comp = $11,418.65
  5. Benefits$97,052.80 × 15.25% = $14,800.55
  6. Labor per billable hour$123,272.00 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $101.31
  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$101.31 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $147.92
  10. Rate at 10% profit$147.92 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $164.36

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 Oregon3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$46.66/hr
Oregon median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate New employer
2.40%
New-employer rate; no separate construction rate found · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$56,700
Oregon · 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.

Oregon: pay, payroll taxes and licensesSee all 50 states and DC
Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Oregon 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+27.02% of pay

Filled: Oregon new-employer rate, DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Oregon, 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$59.27per paid hour · burden 27.02%

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: $164.36 per billable hour · break-even $147.92. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Oregon’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
No sales taxOregon has no general sales or use tax, so work on buildings carries no state sales tax.None for sales tax. The Corporate Activity Tax, owed on more than $1 million of taxable Oregon commercial activity, is a tax on the business, not a sales tax.
Materials
No state sales taxNo sales or use tax applies to materials or fixtures.

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 and Electrical

State license

Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Building Codes Division (BCD)

  • Plumbing Plumbing Business (PB) license from BCD, plus a CCB contractor licenseA plumbing business license entitles a person to advertise, furnish labor and material, and install, change and repair plumbing; prerequisites include an active CCB license and a full-time signing supervisor.
  • Electrical Electrical Contractor (C) license from BCD, plus a CCB contractor licenseAn electrical contractor license allows a company to engage in the business of making electrical installations; prerequisites include an active CCB license and a full-time signing supervisor.
FeeAmount
Both
CCB license exam (paid directly to exam provider)per exam$60
CCB initial license application2 years$400
CCB license renewal2 years$400
Plumbing · Plumbing Business (PB) license from BCD, plus a CCB contractor license
Plumbing Business (PB) license feelicense cycle (renews every three years on July 1)$150
Electrical · Electrical Contractor (C) license from BCD, plus a CCB contractor license
Electrical Contractor (C) license feelicense cycle (renews every three years on July 1)$375

Plumbing The Business Xpress license directory lists a $150 BCD license fee and says renewal fees vary by license type, so the BCD renewal amount is not listed. A new BCD license runs only to the end of the current three-year cycle. No exam for the PB business license (individual plumbers hold journeyman licenses). CCB fees apply to the separate CCB contractor license; CCB bond/insurance also required.

Electrical The BCD electrical contractor (C) business license has no exam; renewal fees are set on the BCD renewal form, and a new BCD license runs only to the end of the current three-year cycle. CCB fees apply to the separate CCB license.

Keeping the license

Renewal
PlumbingThe BCD Plumbing Business (PB) license renews every three years on July 1; the individual Journeyman Plumber (JP) license renews every three years on April 1. apps.oregon.govElectricalThe BCD Electrical Contractor (C) business license renews every three years on July 1; the General Journeyman Electrician (J) license renews every three years on October 1 ($100 renewal fee). apps.oregon.gov
Continuing ed.
PlumbingThe Plumbing Business license itself needs no continuing education, but the Journeyman Plumber license requires 24 hours per three-year cycle, part of it in code-change courses, and the hours must be in the BCD system before renewal. apps.oregon.gov · oregon.govElectricalThe Electrical Contractor business license needs no continuing education, but the General Journeyman Electrician license requires 24 hours per three-year cycle, including code-change hours. apps.oregon.gov
Reciprocity
PlumbingOregon’s Building Codes Division has reciprocity agreements for the Journeyman Plumber (JP) license with Idaho and Montana only. oregon.govElectricalOregon has reciprocity for the General Supervising Electrician (S) license with Arkansas and Utah, and for the General Journeyman Electrician (J) license with Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Utah, Washington and Wyoming (Washington applicants must have done an Oregon or Washington apprenticeship). oregon.gov

Sources read

HVAC

State license

Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB)

CCB contractor license (required for heating/air-conditioning work); BCD Restricted Energy Contractor (CRE) license for the HVAC electrical work

Oregon law generally requires anyone working for compensation in construction on real property to be CCB-licensed; CCB lists heating and air conditioning as work requiring a license. A CRE electrical license is limited to HVAC activities.

FeeAmount
CCB license exam (paid directly to exam provider)per exam$60
CCB initial license application2 years$400
Restricted Energy Contractor (CRE) license fee (BCD)license cycle (renews every three years on July 1)$375
CCB license renewal2 years$400

Limited Maintenance Specialty Contractor HVAC/R (LHR, commercial/industrial maintenance) fee is $75. CCB bond and insurance also required.

Keeping the license

Renewal
Oregon has no separate state HVAC mechanical trade license; the CCB license covers HVAC work and renews every two years, and the BCD Restricted Energy Contractor (CRE) license for the electrical side of HVAC renews every three years on July 1. apps.oregon.gov
Continuing ed.
The Restricted Energy Contractor (CRE) business license is exempt from continuing education; the individual electrical licenses of its signing supervisor carry their own CE (BCD). apps.oregon.gov
Reciprocity
BCD’s reciprocity agreements cover only the Journeyman Plumber, General Journeyman Electrician and General Supervising Electrician licenses; no HVAC or restricted energy license is on the list. oregon.gov

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
Besides the Building Codes Division (BCD) plumbing business, electrical contractor or restricted energy (HVAC electrical) license, a shop must hold a Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license with the right endorsement (residential or commercial specialty contractor) under ORS 701.021; there is no job-value threshold beyond the ORS 701.010 exemptions. The CCB license is valid for two years (ORS 701.063) and costs $400 per two-year term. oregonlegislature.gov · oregon.gov
Bond
$20,000The CCB license requires a surety bond filed with the board: $20,000 for a residential specialty contractor and $25,000 for a residential general contractor (ORS 701.081); commercial specialty contractors post $25,000 (level 2) or $55,000 (level 1) (ORS 701.084). The BCD plumbing and electrical business licenses carry no separate bond beyond the CCB bond. oregonlegislature.gov · oregon.gov
Insurance
$300,000CCB licensees must carry general liability insurance, including products and completed operations, for the whole license period (ORS 701.073): $300,000 per occurrence for a residential specialty contractor, $500,000 for a residential general contractor, and $500,000 per occurrence (level 2) or $1,000,000 aggregate (level 1) for a commercial specialty contractor. Workers’ compensation is required if the business has employees. oregon.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State license only Who licenses the trades in Oregon

Plumbing and electrical licenses are issued statewide by the Building Codes Division; ORS 479.854 lets a city or county require its own supervising electrician license only with approval of the Electrical and Elevator Board and the DCBS director, and only for installations of a unique character. oregonlegislature.gov · oregon.gov

State and city pages read

What Oregon 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

ORS 87.001–87.093Chapter 87 — Statutory Liens (Construction Liens)

You, hired by the owner
On a residential construction or improvement contract over $2,000, the original contractor must deliver the Construction Contractors Board’s “Information Notice to Owner” when the contract is signed; a contractor who fails to do so may not claim a lien for that work and can be fined up to $5,000 (ORS 87.093). No notice is needed from a contractor hired by the owner on other jobs. oregonlegislature.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredAnyone not hired by the owner must give the owner a notice of right to a lien (ORS 87.021, form in 87.023); it protects only work and materials furnished from 8 business days before it is delivered or mailed. On a commercial improvement, subs who perform labor or provide labor and materials (and equipment renters) need not give it. oregonlegislature.gov
File the lien
75 daysFile the claim of lien with the county recording officer no later than 75 days after you stop furnishing labor or materials or 75 days after construction is complete, whichever comes first (ORS 87.035); the same rule applies to subs and suppliers. oregonlegislature.gov
Enforce it
120 daysSue to foreclose within 120 days after filing the claim of lien (longer only if extended payment terms are stated in the claim, never beyond 2 years) (ORS 87.055), and deliver a written notice of intent to foreclose to the owner and mortgagee at least 10 days before suing (ORS 87.057). oregonlegislature.gov
Homes
Residential contracts over $2,000 require the Information Notice to Owner at signing or the original contractor loses its lien (ORS 87.093). On a residential building (owner-occupied, four units or fewer) every lower-tier claimant, including labor-only subs, must give the notice of right to a lien, and no lien arises for certain services on an owner-occupied residence ordered by the owner’s agent (ORS 87.021). oregonlegislature.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesOn private construction contracts (ORS 701.620–701.645), the owner must pay progress billings within 14 days after receipt and final payment within 7 days after approving the work, unless the drawings and specs state a longer period; late payments carry 1.5% per month. A contractor must pay subs and suppliers within 7 days after it is paid, with 1.5% per month interest from the 8th day; these rules do not apply to buildings under the Low-Rise Residential Dwelling Code or to public contracts. oregonlegislature.gov
Retainage
Capped at 5%ORS 701.420 caps retainage at 5% of the contract price of work completed on construction and home-improvement contracts. Final payment bears 1% per month interest starting 30 days after the work is complete and accepted, and when a contractor pays a sub in full the owner must release the matching retainage within 15 days after notice. oregonlegislature.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Oregon

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 Portland airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
4,104
Cooling degree days
508
Nights ≤ 32 °F
32
Days ≥ 90 °F
15
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Portland airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan71809
Feb58407
Mar51903
Apr3672–
May19621–
Jun8056–
Jul10171–
Aug7181–
Sep6173–
Oct2974–
Nov53904
Dec72708

Heating carries the load at Portland airport: 4,104 heating degree days a year against 508 cooling degree days, peaking in December (727).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are June and September (136 and 134 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 32 a year. Days reaching 90 °F: about 15 a year, the most in August.

Weighted by where Oregon’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 5,138 heating and 204 cooling degree days — 27th for heating and 47th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Portland airport (USW00024229), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 727 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 (oregon.gov)Oregon Employment Department (OED), 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. Paid Leave OregonOregon Employment Department - Paid Leave Oregon · read October 28, 2026
  7. Sales Tax in OregonOregon Department of Revenue · no date shown · read October 24, 2026
  8. Corporate Activity TaxOregon Department of Revenue · no date shown · read October 24, 2026
  9. ORS 87.001–87.093 — Chapter 87 — Statutory Liens (Construction Liens)Official state code · read November 4, 2026
  10. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsOregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Workers' Compensation Division · read November 4, 2026
  11. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Portland airport (USW00024229)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  12. 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