Trade Price Book
MenuClose

Reference · State of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Pennsylvania, 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
$32.73/h+6.7% vs the U.S.18th of 51
HVAC median
$30.00/h+2.3% vs the U.S.20th of 51
Electrical median
$32.50/h+7.0% vs the U.S.22nd of 51
New-employer SUTA
3.822%on the first $10,000
Payroll programs
Noneno paid-leave or disability program found
Sales tax on labor
Not taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Pennsylvania

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 $22.49, 25th $27.83, median $32.73, 75th $44.15, 90th $64.48 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $22.10, 25th $24.44, median $30.00, 75th $35.88, 90th $43.00 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $21.92, 25th $26.51, median $32.50, 75th $45.92, 90th $58.95 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 Pennsylvania, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$22.49$22.10$21.92
25th$27.83$24.44$26.51
Median$32.73$30.00$32.50
75th$44.15$35.88$45.92
90th$64.48$43.00$58.95
Mean$37.05$31.19$36.43
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+6.7%+2.3%+7.0%
Rank18th20th22nd
Jobs13,62015,88022,730

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 Pennsylvania 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)

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Office of Unemployment Compensation Tax Services

Wage base
$10,000 per employee a year
New-employer rate
3.822%
Construction
10.5924%for new construction employers

Construction employers: 10.5924% (PA L&I, calendar year 2026, newly liable construction employers). The general 3.8220% and the construction rate both include the 9.2% surcharge; the 0.60% Additional Contributions tax does not apply to newly liable employers.

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 10.5924% × $10,000 = $1,059At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($32.73 × 2,080 h = $68,078). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation

Who must carry it
Any employeeAny employer with at least one employee who could be injured in Pennsylvania must insure its workers’ comp liability, unless every one of its workers falls into an excluded category. Part-time workers and family members such as a spouse or children count: unless all employees meet an exclusion, the employer must insure. pa.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurers or the state fundState Workers' Insurance Fund (SWIF)An employer may buy a policy from the State Workers’ Insurance Fund (SWIF, 570-963-4635), from an insurance company licensed in Pennsylvania, or get Department of Labor & Industry approval to self-insure individually or as a group. SWIF was established by statute in 1915 and operates as an enterprise fund within the Department of Labor & Industry. pa.gov
Owners
A sole proprietor or general partners with no other employees, and an LLC whose only workers are its members, do not have to carry coverage. A corporation may apply to exclude executive officers: any officer with an ownership interest in a subchapter S corporation, officers with at least a 5% interest in a C corporation, or unpaid volunteer officers of a nonprofit; file forms LIBC-509 and LIBC-513 with the insurer, or with the Bureau’s Compliance Section if there are no other employees. pa.gov
Construction
Under Section 302 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, a municipality must get proof of workers’ comp insurance from a contractor before issuing a building permit, or an affidavit that the contractor employs no one else and is not required to carry coverage. The Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72, in effect since Feb. 10, 2011) sets the definition of “independent contractor” for workers’ comp in the construction industry, enforced by L&I’s Bureau of Labor Law Compliance. pa.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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Pennsylvania’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 $32.73$117.77$130.86→ $135
HVACwage $30.00$111.91$124.35→ $125
Electricalwage $32.50$117.28$130.31→ $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).

Change the numbers for your shop

The labor rate calculator, opened on Pennsylvania: 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 Pennsylvania: 3 techs at the state’s median plumber wage, $120,000 overhead. Change any number or pick another state.

Charge at least Example shop · Pennsylvania

Charge at least $130.86 per billable hour; break-even $117.77.

Round up to $135 (+$4.14)

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 $130.86 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $55.95, taxes & benefits $15.21, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $13.09. Break-even line at $117.77. Rounded up to $135.12345$0Labor$71.16Break-even$117.77Your rate$130.86Round up to$135
  1. Wage$68,078.40 ÷ 1,216.8 h$55.95
  2. Taxes & benefits27.19% of pay$15.21
  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$13.09
Break-even
$117.77
Profit per hour
$13.09
Revenue a year
$477,688

$117.77 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $130.86rounded up to $135

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $135 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$41.63per paid hour
Labor
$71.16per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
27.19%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $117.77 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $109.36, $8.41 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $115.03.
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$32.73 × 2,080 h = $68,078.40
  4. Employer taxes and comp$4,220.86 SS + $987.14 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $1,059.24 SUTA + $1,817.69 comp = $8,126.93
  5. Benefits$68,078.40 × 15.25% = $10,381.96
  6. Labor per billable hour$86,587.29 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $71.16
  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$71.16 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $117.77
  10. Rate at 10% profit$117.77 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $130.86

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 Pennsylvania3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$32.73/hr
Pennsylvania median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate Construction
10.5924%
Construction rate; other new employers pay 3.822% · PA L&I, 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$10,000
Pennsylvania · 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.

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

Construction employers: 10.5924% (PA L&I, calendar year 2026, newly liable construction employers). The general 3.8220% and the construction rate both include the 9.2% surcharge; the 0.60% Additional Contributions tax does not apply to newly liable employers.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Pennsylvania 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+27.19% of pay

Filled: Pennsylvania construction rate, PA L&I, 2026. Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Pennsylvania, 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$41.63per paid hour · burden 27.19%

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: $130.86 per billable hour · break-even $117.77. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Pennsylvania’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 taxedRepair work on buildings and property permanently affixed to real estate isn’t taxable, and construction contractors pay tax on what they install.Building maintenance is taxed: the regulation lists central air conditioning maintenance and changing air filters. Plumbing repairs, boiler and furnace maintenance, and residential air conditioning maintenance and repair aren’t taxed.
Materials
Contractor, when buyingConstruction contractors generally pay tax on all materials, equipment, components and supplies they furnish and install.

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

No state license

Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection (Home Improvement Contractor registration)

  • Plumbing No state plumbing license; Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration for residential work; plumber licenses are issued by municipalitiesAnyone who owns or operates a home improvement business or performs home improvements in Pennsylvania must register with the Attorney General (exemptions: under $5,000 of work a year; retailers with net worth over $50 million).
  • HVAC No state HVAC license; Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration for residential work (covers installing central heating and air conditioning)Anyone who owns or operates a home improvement business or performs home improvements in Pennsylvania must register with the Attorney General (exemptions: under $5,000 of work a year; retailers with net worth over $50 million).
  • Electrical Currently no state electrical license (some municipalities license electricians); Act 108 of 2026 creates a state Licensed Electrical Contractor license from the State Board of Electrical Licensure, required from about October 2028Today: HIC registration for residential home-improvement work. Under Act 108 of 2026, from about October 22, 2028 (two years after enactment) no individual or business may contract to provide electrical services unless licensed as a licensed electrical contractor by the State Board of Electrical Licensure.
FeeAmount
Home Improvement Contractor registration (new or renewal)2 years$100

The only statewide credential is HIC registration for residential home-improvement work ($100 per two years, new or renewal). The AG FAQ page still shows older $50/$100 wording; the main HIC page states $100 every two years. Local trade-license fees vary by municipality.

Electrical Act 108 of 2026 (SB 1260, signed Oct. 22, 2026): fees will be fixed by the new board by regulation; none set yet. The rest of the Act, including Section 710, which preempts local rules on electricians' qualifications, takes effect 60 days after enactment, so ask your municipality how local electrician licenses are handled until state licenses are issued. Holders of a qualifying municipal electrician license who apply within one year after the licensing requirement starts can be licensed without the state exam.

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
Any contractor doing at least $5,000 of home improvement work a year, including installing central heating or air conditioning, must register with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (Act 132 of 2008); plumbers, HVAC and electrical shops are not exempt. Registration renews every two years and the fee is $100 for new and renewal applications; the act covers work on private residences, and building a new home is excluded. palegis.us · attorneygeneral.gov
Bond
The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires proof of liability insurance for HIC registration but no surety bond; only large home improvement retailers that take bigger deposits post a letter of credit. There is no state plumbing, HVAC or electrical license with a bond requirement. palegis.us · attorneygeneral.gov · pa.gov
Insurance
$50,000HIC registration requires proof of liability insurance of at least $50,000 for personal injury and $50,000 for property damage caused by the contractor’s work (HICPA section 4), and every home improvement contract must state the coverage. Under Act 108 of 2026, licensed electrical contractors will also have to carry professional liability insurance in an amount the new State Board of Electrical Licensure sets. palegis.us

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

Local licensing Who licenses the trades in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no state plumbing, HVAC or electrical license; municipalities license these trades, and the HIC act keeps existing local trade licensing in place while barring local home-improvement registration. Philadelphia (Department of Licenses and Inspections) licenses master plumbers and electrical contractors; Pittsburgh licenses electrical and mechanical contractors; the Allegheny County Health Department licenses plumbers. Act 108 of 2026 (Section 710, in effect 60 days after the October 22, 2026 signing) preempts local rules on electricians’ qualifications, and its state electrical license requirement starts October 22, 2028. pa.gov · phila.gov · pittsburghpa.gov · palegis.us · alleghenycounty.us

State and city pages read

What Pennsylvania 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

Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963, Act of Aug. 24, 1963, P.L. 1175, No. 497 (49 P.S. § 1101 et seq.)Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963

You, hired by the owner
No notice to startA contractor in direct contract with the owner gives no notice before or during the job; the 30-day formal notice of intent in § 501 applies only to subcontractors. After filing, every claimant must serve written notice of the filing on the owner within 1 month (§ 502(a)(2)). palegis.us
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredA subcontractor must give the owner a formal written notice of intent to file a claim at least 30 days before filing (§ 501(b.1)). On a “searchable project” (an improvement costing at least $1,500,000) where the owner filed a Notice of Commencement in the State Construction Notices Directory, a sub must also file a Notice of Furnishing in the directory within 45 days after first working or delivering materials, or it forfeits its lien (§ 501.3). palegis.us
File the lien
6 monthsFile the claim with the prothonotary within 6 months after completing your work, then serve written notice of the filing on the owner within 1 month and file the affidavit of service within 20 days after service (§ 502(a)); the claim must exceed $500 (§ 301(a)). Subs have the same 6 months. palegis.us
Enforce it
2 yearsStart the action to obtain judgment on the claim within 2 years after filing, unless the owner extends the time in writing; a verdict or judgment must be obtained within 5 years after filing (§ 701). palegis.us
Homes
A subcontractor has no lien on residential property when the owner (or tenant) has paid the contractor the full contract price and the property is a single townhouse or a one- or two-unit building used or intended as the owner’s residence (§ 301(b)). palegis.us

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesUnder the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act, unless the contract says otherwise the owner must pay within 20 days after the end of the billing period or delivery of the invoice, whichever is later, with 1% per month interest if more than 7 days late (§ 5); a contractor must pay its subs 14 days after receiving payment or the sub’s invoice, whichever is later (§ 7). The act does not apply to projects of six or fewer residential units under construction at the same time (§ 3). palegis.us
Retainage
Pennsylvania sets no percentage cap on private-job retainage, but the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (§ 9) requires retainage to be paid within 30 days after final acceptance of the work and passed down to subs within 14 days after the contractor receives it; on substantial completion of its own scope, a contractor or sub may get retainage released early by posting a 120% maintenance bond. palegis.us

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Pennsylvania

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 Philadelphia airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
4,510
Cooling degree days
1,358
Nights ≤ 32 °F
77
Days ≥ 90 °F
30
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Philadelphia airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan972023
Feb815020
Mar666112
Apr330151
May10482–
Jun10266–
Jul0425–
Aug1368–
Sep28175–
Oct23726–
Nov53015
Dec818017

Heating carries the load at Philadelphia airport: 4,510 heating degree days a year against 1,358 cooling degree days, peaking in January (972).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and September (187 and 204 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 77 a year, ten or more a month in December through March. Days reaching 90 °F: about 30 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Pennsylvania’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 5,753 heating and 735 cooling degree days — 22nd for heating and 30th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Philadelphia airport (USW00013739), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 972 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 (pa.gov)Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Office of Unemployment Compensation Tax Services · 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. Retailer’s Information (REV-717)Pennsylvania Department of Revenue · 02-26 · read October 24, 2026
  7. 61 Pa. Code § 60.1, Building maintenance or building cleaning servicesPennsylvania Department of Revenue (Pennsylvania Code) · effective March 11, 2006 · read October 24, 2026
  8. Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963, Act of Aug. 24, 1963, P.L. 1175, No. 497 (49 P.S. § 1101 et seq.) — Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963Official state code · read November 4, 2026
  9. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsPennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation · read November 4, 2026
  10. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Philadelphia airport (USW00013739)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