What the Trades Earn: Ten Median Wages, Ranked
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures what workers in every occupation actually earn. Here are the May 2025 national median hourly wages for the ten service trades our invoice generators cover, ranked. The licensed trades cluster at the top, at roughly double the cleaning occupations at the bottom, and every one of these numbers is a wage, not a billed rate. The gap between the two is where a service business lives.
Median Hourly Wage by Trade
Licensed mechanical trades (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) hold the top three slots. The spread from top to bottom is 2x, which is also roughly the multiple between any trade’s wage and what its work bills for.
What Trades Earn: Median Hourly Wages (BLS, May 2025)
National median wages for workers in each trade, not billed rates. A business bills 2x to 3x the wage to cover taxes, insurance, overhead, tools, and non-billable time; use these as the labor-cost floor under a quote, not the price.
| Trade | Median hourly wage |
|---|---|
| Plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters | $34.70 |
| Electricians | $34.37 |
| HVAC mechanics and installers | $32.75 |
| Carpenters | $31.55 |
| Roofers | $27.95 |
| Painters (construction and maintenance) | $26.64 |
| Photographers | $21.47 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | $18.82 |
| Janitors and cleaners | $17.71 |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | $17.07 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates · checked 2026-08
From Wage to Billed Rate
A $34.70 wage becomes a $45 to $50 loaded cost once payroll taxes, insurance, and benefits are added, and a $90 to $150 billed rate once overhead, equipment, drive time, and profit are on top. That arithmetic is why quoting from gut feel loses money. Run your own numbers: labor cost calculator for the loaded cost, markup calculator for the price.
Invoice Generators for These Trades
- Plumbing Invoice, Electrician Invoice, HVAC Invoice
The licensed trades: service call structure, parts and labor split.
- Cleaning Invoice, Landscaping Invoice, Photography Invoice
Recurring-service and session-based billing formats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a plumber charge $150 an hour if the median wage is $34.70?
The wage is what the worker earns; the billed rate carries everything else: payroll taxes, liability insurance and bonding, the truck and tools, fuel, drive time between jobs, office overhead, and the unbillable hours spent quoting and invoicing. A 2x to 3x multiple from wage to billed rate is normal economics, not gouging.
Are these figures national?
Yes, national medians from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025 estimates). Local markets vary widely; coastal metros commonly run 30% to 60% above these medians and rural markets below.
What is the right way to use this table in pricing?
As the labor-cost floor. Start from the wage you actually pay, load it with taxes, insurance, and overhead (our labor cost calculator does this), then apply your markup. Quoting from a competitor's price without knowing your loaded cost is how trades businesses lose money on busy months.
Which trade earns the most?
Among the service trades in this table, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters lead at a $34.70 median hourly wage, with electricians effectively tied at $34.37. Specialized and licensed trades cluster at the top; cleaning occupations anchor the bottom at around $17.
Cite this page: QuickDoc, “What the trades earn,” quickdoc.tools/data/trade-rates/, checked 2026-08. Primary source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates. Not financial advice.