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Reference · State of Virginia

Virginia trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Virginia, 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
$29.07/h−5.2% vs the U.S.38th of 51
HVAC median
$28.72/h−2.1% vs the U.S.33rd of 51
Electrical median
$30.24/h−0.5% vs the U.S.31st of 51
New-employer SUTA
2.50%on the first $8,000
Payroll programs
1 programPaid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, from April 1, 2028
Sales tax on labor
Not taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Virginia

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 $21.14, 25th $23.72, median $29.07, 75th $34.51, 90th $37.52 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $19.12, 25th $23.03, median $28.72, 75th $35.31, 90th $40.11 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $19.61, 25th $23.76, median $30.24, 75th $37.59, 90th $50.83 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 Virginia, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$21.14$19.12$19.61
25th$23.72$23.03$23.76
Median$29.07$28.72$30.24
75th$34.51$35.31$37.59
90th$37.52$40.11$50.83
Mean$29.16$29.42$32.62
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.−5.2%−2.1%−0.5%
Rank38th33rd31st
Jobs13,78014,69023,630

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 Virginia 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)

Virginia Employment Commission (VEC)

Wage base
$8,000 per employee a year
New-employer rate
2.50%
Construction
No separate rate published

Any applicable add-ons are charged on top of the new-employer rate; check your rate notice (DOL Comparison 2023, Table 2-12).

Charged with it

Per tech, a year 2.50% × $8,000 = $200At the new-employer rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($29.07 × 2,080 h = $60,466). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission

Who must carry it
3 employees or moreA business that regularly has more than two employees (three or more) in Virginia must carry coverage (Va. Code 65.2-101, “employee” 2(h)). Part-time, seasonal and temporary workers, minors and working family members all count, and a contractor must add its subcontractors’ employees to its own count even if the subs have their own coverage. workcomp.virginia.gov · law.lis.virginia.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersAn employer must insure with an insurer authorized to write workers’ compensation in Virginia, be certified by the Commission as a self-insurer, or belong to a licensed group self-insurance association (Va. Code 65.2-801); there is no state fund. law.lis.virginia.gov
Owners
Corporate officers and LLC managers are employees and count toward the threshold (Va. Code 65.2-101); an executive officer may reject coverage for accidents by notice to the employer filed with the Commission (Form 16A) (65.2-300(B)), and an unpaid officer who rejects is not counted. A sole proprietor, single shareholder, single-member LLC member or all partners are covered only if they elect coverage and notify the insurer; Virginia has no waiver form for businesses not required to carry coverage. law.lis.virginia.gov
Construction
A contractor counts its subcontractors’ employees with its own: if the total is more than two, it must carry coverage, even if the subs are insured. Under Va. Code 65.2-302 an owner or contractor that subcontracts part of its work is liable for compensation to the sub’s workers as if it had employed them directly. workcomp.virginia.gov · law.lis.virginia.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Contributions start April 1, 2028 Virginia Employment Commission (VEC)

Total rate
Not set yet
Employer pays
Shared employer/employee contribution; rate not yet set
Small employers
10 or fewer employees: no employer contribution
Employees
Employee contribution withheld; employer may cover part of it

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

Next: Payroll contributions begin April 1, 2028; benefits begin December 1, 2028

Approved private 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 Virginia needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Virginia’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 $29.07$109.21$121.35→ $125
HVACwage $28.72$108.46$120.51→ $125
Electricalwage $30.24$111.72$124.14→ $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).

Change the numbers for your shop

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

Charge at least Example shop · Virginia

Charge at least $121.35 per billable hour; break-even $109.21.

Round up to $125 (+$3.65)

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 $121.35 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $49.69, taxes & benefits $12.91, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $12.13. Break-even line at $109.21. Rounded up to $125.12345$0Labor$62.60Break-even$109.21Your rate$121.35Round up to$125
  1. Wage$60,465.60 ÷ 1,216.8 h$49.69
  2. Taxes & benefits25.97% of pay$12.91
  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$12.13
Break-even
$109.21
Profit per hour
$12.13
Revenue a year
$442,959

$109.21 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $121.35rounded 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
$36.62per paid hour
Labor
$62.60per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
25.97%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $109.21 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $101.41, $7.80 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $106.47.
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$29.07 × 2,080 h = $60,465.60
  4. Employer taxes and comp$3,748.87 SS + $876.75 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $200.00 SUTA + $1,614.43 comp = $6,482.05
  5. Benefits$60,465.60 × 15.25% = $9,221.00
  6. Labor per billable hour$76,168.65 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $62.60
  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$62.60 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $109.21
  10. Rate at 10% profit$109.21 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $121.35

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 Virginia3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$29.07/hr
Virginia median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate New employer
2.50%
New-employer rate; no separate construction rate found · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026
SUTA wage base Per tech
$8,000
Virginia · 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.

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

Any applicable add-ons are charged on top of the new-employer rate; check your rate notice (DOL Comparison 2023, Table 2-12).

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Virginia 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+25.97% of pay

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

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Virginia, 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$36.62per paid hour · burden 25.97%

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: $121.35 per billable hour · break-even $109.21. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Virginia’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 doing construction, installation or repair work on real estate aren’t required to collect sales tax from customers, and shouldn’t.A business that sells items at retail and installs them is a retailer and charges tax; separately stated installation charges aren’t taxed.
Materials
Contractor, when buyingContractors are the consumers and pay tax on all the materials and supplies they use, HVAC systems and repair parts included, and take the tax into account in their bids.

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

Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors

  • Plumbing Class A, B or C contractor license with PLB (Plumbing) classification; qualified individual holds a Master Plumber tradesman licenseContractor licenses are issued to business entities; a firm contracting for work over $1,000 needs a Class C, B or A license, and for the PLB classification its qualified individual must hold a Master Plumber tradesman license.
  • HVAC Class A, B or C contractor license with HVA (HVAC) classification; qualified individual holds a Master HVAC tradesman licenseContractor licenses are issued to business entities; a firm contracting for work over $1,000 needs a Class C, B or A license, and for the HVA classification its qualified individual must hold a Master HVAC tradesman license.
  • Electrical Class A, B or C contractor license with ELE (Electrical) classification; qualified individual holds a Master Electrician tradesman licenseContractor licenses are issued to business entities; a firm contracting for work over $1,000 needs a Class C, B or A license, and for the ELE classification its qualified individual must hold a Master Electrician tradesman license.
FeeAmount
Class C contractor initial licenseone-time (license lasts 2 years)$235
Class B contractor initial licenseone-time (license lasts 2 years)$380
Class A contractor initial licenseone-time (license lasts 2 years)$400
Recovery Fund assessment with initial applicationone-time$25
Master tradesman license(qualified individual), original by examination3 years$150
Class C renewal2 years$220
Class B renewal2 years$260
Class A renewal2 years$270
Tradesman license renewal3 years$160

Contractor classes (Code of Va. 54.1-1100) depend on job size and yearly volume: Class C for single jobs over $1,000 but under $30,000 and under $250,000 of work in any 12 months; Class B for a job of $30,000 to under $150,000, or $250,000 to under $1 million in 12 months; Class A for a job of $150,000 or more, or $1 million or more in 12 months. A $30 Recovery Fund assessment is added at each contractor renewal, and DPOR adds a Technology Fee of $7.25 per year (2026 HB 30). Exam fees are vendor charges capped by rule (contractor exam up to $200 per element; master tradesman exam up to $225).

Keeping the license

Renewal
PlumbingJourneyman and master plumber tradesman licenses expire three years from the last day of the month they were issued (18VAC50-30-120; Va. Code § 54.1-1132). The firm’s contractor license renews every two years (18VAC50-22-110). law.lis.virginia.govHVACJourneyman and master HVAC tradesman licenses expire three years from the last day of the month they were issued (18VAC50-30-120; Va. Code § 54.1-1132). The firm’s contractor license renews every two years (18VAC50-22-110). law.lis.virginia.govElectricalJourneyman and master electrician tradesman licenses expire three years from the last day of the month they were issued (18VAC50-30-120; Va. Code § 54.1-1132). The firm’s contractor license renews every two years (18VAC50-22-110). law.lis.virginia.gov
Continuing ed.
PlumbingTo renew, a plumbing tradesman must complete 3 hours of board-approved continuing education on building code changes (the plumbing code) before the license expires; holding both journeyman and master licenses still means one 3-hour course, and a gas-fitting designation adds 1 hour (18VAC50-30-120 C). law.lis.virginia.govHVACTo renew, an HVAC tradesman must complete 3 hours of board-approved continuing education on building code changes (the mechanical code) before the license expires; a gas-fitting designation adds 1 hour (18VAC50-30-120 C). law.lis.virginia.govElectricalTo renew, an electrical tradesman must complete 3 hours of board-approved continuing education on National Electrical Code changes before the license expires (18VAC50-30-120 C). law.lis.virginia.gov
Reciprocity
PlumbingThe Board for Contractors lists no plumbing reciprocity agreement with another state; its only plumbing entry is an examination agreement with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC, Maryland) for journeyman and master plumbers and gas fitters. Out-of-state licensees can also apply through DPOR’s Universal License Recognition application. dpor.virginia.govHVACThe Board for Contractors has one HVAC agreement: Maryland HVAC Board journeyman and master licenses and Virginia journeyman and master HVA licenses (examination reciprocity). dpor.virginia.govElectricalThe Board for Contractors has electrical agreements with Alabama (electrical contractor to Virginia master), the District of Columbia, Kentucky and West Virginia (journeyman and master), Maryland (master), North Carolina (unlimited/intermediate contractor to Virginia master plus Class A or B firm license) and Ohio (master, plus business-law exam). dpor.virginia.gov

Sources read

Beyond the trade license

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

Registration
Besides the individual tradesman license, the business itself needs a Board for Contractors (DPOR) contractor license with the PLB, HVA or ELE classification once a job is over $1,000: Class C for single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000 (under $250,000 a year), Class B for $30,000 to under $150,000 (or $250,000 to under $1 million a year), and Class A above that (Va. Code § 54.1-1100). The board requires a master tradesman license as a condition of the firm license in those trades. law.lis.virginia.gov
Bond
No bond is required for a Class C license. A Class B firm must show a net worth of $15,000 and a Class A firm $45,000, or either may post a $50,000 surety bond on the board’s form instead (18VAC50-22-50 and -60); every firm also pays a $25 Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund assessment with its first application (18VAC50-22-100). law.lis.virginia.gov
Insurance
The Board for Contractors regulations set no liability-insurance minimum for Class A, B or C contractor firms; the only $500,000 general-liability requirement in the rules applies to residential building energy analyst firms. dpor.virginia.gov · law.lis.virginia.gov

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State license only Who licenses the trades in Virginia

Plumbers, HVAC tradesmen and electricians are licensed statewide by the Board for Contractors under Va. Code § 54.1-1129 (since July 1, 1995). Va. Code § 54.1-1117 still lets a locality license and bond home-improvement and home-building contractors that do not hold a Class A state license. law.lis.virginia.gov

State and city pages read

What Virginia 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

Va. Code Title 43, Chapter 1 (§ 43-1 et seq.)Mechanics’ and Materialmen’s Liens

You, hired by the owner
On a one- or two-family home whose building permit names a mechanics’ lien agent, every claimant, the general contractor included, must notify that agent by registered or certified mail or physical delivery within 30 days after first furnishing labor or materials (or after the permit is issued); a late notice covers only work after it is given (Va. Code § 43-4.01(C)). A general contractor must also file, with its memorandum of lien, a certification that it mailed a copy to the owner (§ 43-4). law.lis.virginia.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredBesides filing the memorandum on time, a subcontractor must give the owner (or the owner’s agent) written notice of the amount and character of its claim, and its lien is limited to what the owner owes the general contractor when the notice is given or later (Va. Code § 43-7(A)); on one- or two-family homes the 30-day lien-agent notice in § 43-4.01 also applies. law.lis.virginia.gov
File the lien
90 daysFile the memorandum of lien in the circuit court clerk’s office no later than 90 days after the last day of the month in which you last furnished labor or materials, and never later than 90 days after the building is completed or work otherwise ends (Va. Code § 43-4). A memorandum cannot cover work done more than 150 days before your last day on the job, except retainage up to 10% of the contract price. law.lis.virginia.gov
Enforce it
6 monthsSue to enforce within 6 months after the memorandum was recorded or within 60 days after the building was completed or work otherwise ended, whichever is later (Va. Code § 43-17). law.lis.virginia.gov
Homes
For one- or two-family homes the building permit must be posted on the property before work starts, and when the permit names a mechanics’ lien agent, claimants must notify that agent within 30 days of first furnishing to keep full lien rights (Va. Code § 43-4.01). law.lis.virginia.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
Statute sets deadlinesEvery private construction contract must require the owner to pay the general contractor within 60 days after receiving an invoice for satisfactorily completed work, with written notice of any withholding within 45 days (Va. Code § 11-4.6(B)(1)); a general contractor must pay a sub within the earlier of 60 days after the sub’s invoice or 7 days after being paid, and pay-if-paid clauses are unenforceable unless the paying party is insolvent or bankrupt. Late payment draws interest under § 2.2-4355 (the Wall Street Journal prime rate). law.lis.virginia.gov
Retainage
No private-job capVirginia sets no cap or release deadline for retainage on private jobs; § 11-4.6 states that its payment rules do not prohibit retainage provisions, and the retainage rules in § 2.2-4333 apply to public contracts. A lien memorandum may include retainage up to 10% of the total contract price (§ 43-4). law.lis.virginia.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Virginia

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 Norfolk airport, month by month.

Heating degree days
3,070
Cooling degree days
1,873
Nights ≤ 32 °F
41
Days ≥ 90 °F
36
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Norfolk airport, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan709114
Feb582110
Mar45394
Apr20152–
May53153–
Jun4353–
Jul0499–
Aug0442–
Sep5275–
Oct11575–
Nov362103
Dec58739

Norfolk airport has two working seasons: 3,070 heating and 1,873 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 (206 and 190 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 41 a year, ten or more a month in January through February. Days reaching 90 °F: about 36 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Virginia’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 4,434 heating and 1,107 cooling degree days — 34th for heating and 19th for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Norfolk airport (USW00013737), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 709 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 (vec.virginia.gov)Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) · 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. Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance ProgramVirginia Employment Commission (VEC) · read October 28, 2026
  7. Tax Bulletin 24-3Virginia Department of Taxation · July 1, 2024 · read October 24, 2026
  8. Ruling of the Tax Commissioner 95-31Virginia Department of Taxation · February 28, 1995 · read October 24, 2026
  9. 23VAC10-210-410, Contractors respecting real estateVirginia General Assembly (Virginia Administrative Code, Department of Taxation regulation) · amended effective September 30, 2023 · read October 24, 2026
  10. Va. Code Title 43, Chapter 1 (§ 43-1 et seq.) — Mechanics’ and Materialmen’s LiensOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  11. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsVirginia Workers' Compensation Commission · read November 4, 2026
  12. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Norfolk airport (USW00013737)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  13. 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