How to price plumbing jobs in 2026
The rates the market is paying, the formula that turns your costs into a flat rate, and benchmarks for 37 residential jobs. If you'd rather just build the book, use the builder.
What the market is paying (US)
These are homeowner-facing figures from public guides and one published contractor price book, gathered August 2026. Most HomeGuide tables are dated 2022–2023, so we've lifted them 15% for 2026 and say so. Keeley's Plumbing published its full 2022 master price book, which is the clearest look at a real shop's flat rates.
| Figure | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Residential hourly rate | $45–150 | HomeGuide plumber cost (2022), This Old House |
| Solo service shop hourly, reported | $120–175 | Trade forums 2026 ("$85 service fee + $140/hr") |
| Service call / trip fee | $60–230 | HomeGuide; Keeley's $69 |
| Material markup | Most shops 2× cost on T&M, 40–50% floor, small parts 100–300% | r/Plumbing, r/electricians consensus |
| Target net margin | 10–20% | Simpro, Profitability Partners 2026 |
| Billable hours, service tech | 1,200–1,500 / year | Mike Holt benchmark (trades) |
| Permit fees | $50–500, water heater $50–150 typical | PermitFlow 2026 |
The formula
Loaded labor cost = wage × (1 + burden%)
Overhead per hour = monthly overhead ÷ billable hours per month
Break-even rate = loaded labor cost + overhead per hour
Your hourly rate = break-even ÷ (1 − target margin)
Flat price = hours × your hourly rate + materials × (1 + markup) + trip fee (+ permit, passed through)
Worked at the builder's defaults: $36 wage × 1.25 = $45.00, and $3,000 ÷ 110 = $27.27. Break-even $72.27. ÷ 0.80 = $90.34 an hour. A 50-gallon tank you supply: 3 × 90.34 + 850 × 1.40 = $1,461, plus an $89 trip fee = $1,550. Keeley's charged $1,825 in 2022. The formula is honest about your costs, and the market is telling you the markup can be higher.
Why “double the shop wage” fails
A $36 wage doubled is $72. Break-even at the numbers above is $72.27, so doubling leaves nothing for profit and nothing for the 50 hours a month you can't bill: driving, quoting, supply-house runs, callbacks, paperwork. Billable hours are the variable everyone overestimates. Count them for a month.
Flat rate or time and materials
- Flat rate for installs and repairs you've done many times. One number, quoted from the book, and speed is your profit.
- T&M for leak searches, slab or in-wall work and anything you can't scope until it's open. First hour at a premium, then hourly. Say so before you start and give a not-to-exceed where you can.
- Two columns. Customer-supplied fixtures are labor plus trip. Fixtures you supply carry markup, warranty and stock. Price both and say which is which.
- Check your state. Most states license plumbers and several require written estimates on residential work above a threshold. Nothing here is legal advice.
Market bands for 37 residential jobs
Job totals as published for homeowners. Labor hours and material costs in the builder are planning estimates. The kit has them editable.
| Job | Market low | Market high | Source / note |
|---|
Mistakes that cost the most
- Pricing like an employee. Your rate carries the van, not just your time.
- No trip fee. The drive and the parts run are real hours. $60–230 is normal and customers expect it.
- Passing materials through at cost. Most shops double them. The part is cheap. Your time to get it isn't.
- Installing the big-box heater at the same price as yours. Different job, different warranty, different price. The book has both.
- Quoting from the other guy. You don't know his costs or his license status. Quote from yours.
Next step
Build your book in the builder. When you want it in a spreadsheet you own, with every hour and material editable, both supply columns, a quote tab and the objection scripts, that's the Plumber Pricing Kit ($49).