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Service Call Price Calculator
See what an invoiced hour needs to earn to cover your costs and target margin. Start with a trade wage, then replace it with what you actually pay.
What Your Hour Needs to Earn
- Break-Even Hourly Rate
- $107.11
- Target Hourly Rate
- $126.01
- Diagnostic Fee
- $126.01
At these costs, charge $126.01 per invoiced hour to leave a 15% modeled net margin. The diagnostic fee covers 1 hour of travel and assessment.
Labor Prices by Job Length
| Invoiced Job Hours | Labor Price |
|---|---|
| 1 | $126.01 |
| 2 | $252.03 |
| 4 | $504.05 |
These are labor and overhead prices before parts, permits and sales tax. Count assessment time once: if it is part of the job hours, do not add the diagnostic fee again. Profit is only as complete as the costs you enter.
How the Price Is Worked Out
Monthly labor = wage × burden × paid hours × trucks. Available billable hours = paid hours × trucks × billable share. Divide those hours by (1 + callback hours ÷ 100) to reserve time for unpaid callbacks. Divide labor plus overhead by the remaining hours to get break-even. Divide break-even by (1 − target margin ÷ 100) to get the target rate.
Overhead is your total monthly company cost excluding the technician wages and burden already counted. Include office pay, software, vehicles, rent, insurance and owner compensation where relevant. The default 173.33 paid hours is approximately 2,080 hours per year divided by twelve. One paid technician is assumed for each truck.
Wage Sources and Metro Coverage
BLS Hourly Wage: Median, Excludes Benefits. May 2025, read 2026-10-25. These occupation-wide employee medians include more than residential service work and exclude the self-employed. They are a starting wage, not a selling rate.
The ten metros are the largest by July 1, 2025 population in the Census Vintage 2025 table. BLS area names are used below.
| Area | HVAC ($/Hour) | Plumbing ($/Hour) | Electrical ($/Hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $29.33 | $30.67 | $30.38 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $37.50 | $37.79 | $37.99 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $35.49 | $34.19 | $35.49 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $37.48 | $49.70 | $49.21 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $28.63 | $29.45 | $28.37 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $28.34 | $29.47 | $28.45 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $28.35 | $28.07 | $28.20 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $34.58 | $34.55 | $36.50 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $27.90 | $27.77 | $28.19 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $31.05 | $35.99 | $35.86 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $29.41 | $30.65 | $29.43 |
- BLS OEWS 49-9021: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (May 2025; hourly median, excludes benefits; read 2026-10-25)
- BLS OEWS 47-2152: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (May 2025; hourly median, excludes benefits; read 2026-10-25)
- BLS OEWS 47-2111: Electricians (May 2025; hourly median, excludes benefits; read 2026-10-25)
The BLS Profiles table uses measure 08, hourly median wage. The public table service supplies the values behind those pages.
Forms and Software Costs
Field Service Software Prices · Construction Estimating Software Prices