How Much Should a Contractor Charge Per Hour? Billable Labor Rates by Trade (2026)
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Table of Contents
Here is exactly how to get from a published wage to a rate you can actually bill — with real government data and a formula you can reuse for any trade.
The three numbers that matter
Every billable hourly rate is built from three layers:
The formula:
Billed rate = (Wage × Burden) ÷ (1 − Margin)
Billable hourly rates by trade (2026)
The table below starts from real BLS median wages (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 release), applies a mid-range 1.5x burden, and a 25%–35% margin. Round to your own market.
| Trade | BLS median wage/hr | Loaded cost/hr (~1.5x) | Typical billed rate/hr (25–35% margin) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers | $23.03 | $34.55 | $46 – $53 |
| Painters | $23.77 | $35.66 | $48 – $55 |
| Roofers | $24.60 | $36.90 | $49 – $57 |
| Concrete / cement masons | $27.99 | $41.99 | $56 – $65 |
| Carpenters | $28.54 | $42.81 | $57 – $66 |
| Plumbers / pipefitters | $30.72 | $46.08 | $61 – $71 |
| Electricians | $31.16 | $46.74 | $62 – $72 |
| First-line supervisors | $37.87 | $56.81 | $76 – $87 |
Source: base wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2024. Loaded cost and billed rate are formula-derived, not survey figures — adjust the burden and margin to your business.
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Activate my free accountWorked example: a carpenter
So a one-man carpentry operation that bills $61/hr on a $28.54 wage is not "expensive" — it is barely covering burden, overhead, and a normal profit. Bill $40/hr and you are effectively paying the customer to work.
Why your state changes the number
Wages swing hard by state. An electrician's median is about $27 in parts of the South and over $45 in California, Illinois, and the Northeast. Your billed rate has to move with your local wage and your local insurance costs — a national average will underprice you in a high-cost state and overprice you in a low-cost one.
Look up the real 2026 median wage for your trade and state with our free tool, then run it through the formula above:
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a contractor charge per hour in 2026?
Most U.S. trades bill between $46 and $87 per hour once labor burden and a normal profit margin are added to the worker's wage. Laborers and painters sit at the low end; supervisors, electricians, and plumbers at the high end. Your exact number depends on your state's wages and your insurance costs.What is labor burden and how much is it?
Labor burden is everything you pay on top of the base wage: payroll taxes, workers' compensation, liability insurance, and paid non-billable time. For most small contractors it adds 40% to 60% to the wage, a 1.4x to 1.6x multiplier.Why can't I just charge the worker's wage as my rate?
Because the wage is only about two-thirds of what the labor actually costs you, and it includes zero overhead and zero profit. Billing the raw wage means every hour loses money once taxes, insurance, and your office costs are paid.How do I turn a wage into a billable rate?
Use Billed rate = (Wage × Burden) ÷ (1 − Margin). Multiply the wage by 1.4–1.6 for burden, then divide by one minus your target margin (e.g. 0.70 for a 30% margin).Where do these wage figures come from?
The base wages are real medians published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 release. The loaded cost and billed rate are calculated from those wages using the burden-and-margin formula.Related Guides
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