Plumbing, Heating & Air-Conditioning Contractors — profit margin & cost structure (U.S.)

For the U.S. plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors industry, IRS tax data shows an estimated 15.7% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). That figure — what a self-employed owner keeps per sales dollar before paying themselves — is the number this page exists to report; read the note below on how it's measured.

15.7%net margin · owner-operator basis

National as of tax year 2023 Lower confidence source ↗

Owner-operator basis (IRS SOI sole proprietorships, TY2023): net income less deficit ÷ business receipts. Measured at NAICS 238 — Specialty Trade Contractors (all trades pooled); plumbing/HVAC is not separately published. Owner's own labor is not expensed.

Cost structure

National, from IRS Statistics of Income (weighted sample). Where a component is not separately reported, it is shown as insufficient data — never estimated.

Component	Value
Cost of goods sold (% of receipts)	31.2%	National source ↗
Labor / officer compensation (% of receipts)	4.9%	National source ↗

2019–2023 trend (national)

Change in the number of plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors establishments and employment, nationally, from Census County Business Patterns.

Metric	2019	2023	Change
Establishments	103,359	111,207	+7.6%
Employment	1,099,138	1,214,761	+10.5%

Business size distribution (national)

Share of U.S. plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors establishments by number of employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). 58% have fewer than 5 employees.

1–4 emp64,871 (58%)

5–9 emp20,587 (19%)

10–19 emp13,148 (12%)

20–49 emp8,384 (8%)

50–99 emp2,561 (2%)

100+ emp1,656 (1%)

Where this industry operates — all 51 states

Establishment counts, employment, and wages are available for free elsewhere too (e.g. Data USA). States ordered by number of establishments — pick one for local context:

Full cost-structure breakdown by business-size class and side-by-side industry comparison are available to subscribers. This page shows the current-year national headline plus the multi-year establishment trend.

Frequently asked

What is the average profit margin for plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors businesses?

About 15.7% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, IRS SOI sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). This counts the owner's own labor as profit, so it overstates corporate-style margin — see the note above.

How many plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors businesses are there in the U.S.?

111,207 establishments with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

What is the average wage in the plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors industry?

$1,506 per week (BLS QCEW 2024, private sector) — about $78,312/year.

Is the plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors industry growing?

The number of U.S. plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors establishments changed +7.6% from 2019 to 2023 (103,359 → 111,207), per Census CBP.

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machine-readable JSON · NAICS 238220

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