Why are contractor hourly rates so high?

Because the billed rate is not what the contractor keeps. It has to cover the wage, plus overhead like the truck, insurance, and tools, plus the many non-billable hours spent quoting, driving, and chasing payment. After all of that, a $120 rate might leave only $15–$25 an hour in real profit.

How do I set my hourly rate as a contractor?

Build it from the bottom up: start with your fully-loaded labour cost per hour, add overhead per billable hour (annual overhead divided by the hours you actually bill), then add your profit margin. This gives a floor you cannot price below and a target that includes real profit — far more reliable than copying a competitor's rate.

How Much Do Contractors Charge Per Hour?

Q: How much do contractors charge per hour?

Most US trade contractors charge $75–$150+ per hour depending on trade and region. Electricians and plumbers commonly bill $75–$130, HVAC techs $75–$150, security installers $65–$110, and handymen $50–$90, with emergency and specialty work running higher. Regional cost of living shifts these ranges significantly.

Typical hourly rates by trade

These are common US billing ranges for established trade contractors. Regional cost of living moves them significantly — a rate that is high in a rural area is low in a major metro.

Electricians — roughly $75–$130/hour; specialty and panel work toward the top.
Plumbers — roughly $75–$130/hour; emergency and after-hours calls higher.
HVAC technicians — roughly $75–$150/hour; diagnostic and service calls at the upper end.
Security / low-voltage installers — roughly $65–$110/hour.
General handyman — roughly $50–$90/hour.

Many trades also use a flat service-call or diagnostic fee on top of the hourly rate. Whether hourly or flat-rate pricing is better for you is its own decision — see Flat-Rate vs Hourly Pricing.

Why the rate you charge is not what you keep

A $120 hourly rate sounds healthy until you trace where it goes. The technician's wage comes out first. Then the truck, insurance, tools, and software — your overhead. Then the reality that you cannot bill every hour you work: time spent quoting, driving, buying materials, and chasing payment is unpaid, and it can be a third or more of your week.

Spread the overhead and the non-billable hours across the hours you can bill, and a $120 rate might leave a genuine profit of $15–$25 an hour. That is normal — it is why the headline rate has to be well above your wage. Contractors who set their rate by matching a competitor, without knowing their own fully-loaded cost, often pick a number that quietly loses money.

How to set your own rate

Do not copy a competitor. Build your rate from the bottom up:

Start with your fully-loaded labour cost per hour — wage plus payroll taxes, insurance, and vehicle.
Add your overhead per billable hour (annual overhead ÷ hours you actually bill).
Add your profit margin on top.

That gives you a floor you cannot price below without losing money, and a target that includes real profit. Work through the labour-cost piece in How to Calculate Your Labor Rate, and sanity-check it with the hourly rate calculator.

Then the real test is whether the rate holds up on actual jobs. Fieldpaid compares your quoted margin to your real margin on every paid invoice, so you find out whether your hourly rate is actually clearing overhead and leaving profit — or just feels right.

How Much Do Contractors Charge Per Hour? Real Trade-by-Trade Rates

Typical hourly rates by trade

Why the rate you charge is not what you keep

How to set your own rate

Common questions

How much do contractors charge per hour?

Why are contractor hourly rates so high?

How do I set my hourly rate as a contractor?

See real vs quoted margin on every job.