Plumbing Hourly Rate Calculator

Desired Annual Salary ($)

Annual Business Overhead ($)

Billable Hours Per Week (Time spent on actual plumbing jobs)

Weeks Worked Per Year

Desired Profit Margin (%)

Your Recommended Billing Rates

Break-Even Rate $0.00

Target Hourly Rate $0.00

function calculatePlumbingRate() { var salary = parseFloat(document.getElementById('desiredSalary').value); var overhead = parseFloat(document.getElementById('annualOverhead').value); var hoursPerWeek = parseFloat(document.getElementById('billableHours').value); var weeksPerYear = parseFloat(document.getElementById('weeksWorked').value); var profit = parseFloat(document.getElementById('profitMargin').value); if (isNaN(salary) || isNaN(overhead) || isNaN(hoursPerWeek) || isNaN(weeksPerYear) || isNaN(profit) || hoursPerWeek <= 0 || weeksPerYear <= 0) { alert("Please enter valid positive numbers for all fields."); return; } var totalAnnualCost = salary + overhead; var totalBillableHours = hoursPerWeek * weeksPerYear; var breakEvenRate = totalAnnualCost / totalBillableHours; // Target Rate = Break Even / (1 – (Profit % / 100)) // This ensures the profit margin is relative to the revenue, not just a markup on cost. var targetRate = breakEvenRate / (1 – (profit / 100)); document.getElementById('breakEvenDisplay').innerText = '$' + breakEvenRate.toFixed(2); document.getElementById('targetRateDisplay').innerText = '$' + targetRate.toFixed(2); document.getElementById('summaryText').innerText = "To cover your expenses and earn a " + profit + "% profit, you need to bill approximately " + totalBillableHours + " hours per year."; document.getElementById('resultArea').style.display = 'block'; }

How to Determine Your Plumbing Service Rates

Running a plumbing business involves much more than just fixing pipes. To remain profitable and sustainable, you must accurately calculate your hourly billing rate based on your actual costs, not just what the competition is charging. This calculator helps you identify your "Break-Even" point and your "Target Rate" to ensure your business thrives.

Key Factors in the Calculation

Desired Annual Salary: This is the net amount you want to take home as the owner. Remember that as a business owner, your salary is an expense to the business.
Annual Overhead: These are the fixed and variable costs of staying in business regardless of how many jobs you do. This includes truck payments, fuel, insurance (General Liability/Workers Comp), tool replacement, licensing fees, software, and marketing.
Billable Hours: This is the most critical metric. You cannot bill for 40 hours a week because you spend significant time driving, quoting jobs, purchasing parts, and doing paperwork. Most residential service plumbers find that only 20 to 30 hours per week are truly "billable."
Profit Margin: Profit is what is left over after you have paid all expenses and your own salary. This money stays in the company for future growth, equipment upgrades, and emergency reserves.

The Importance of the Break-Even Rate

Your break-even rate is the absolute minimum you can charge without losing money. If your break-even rate is $80/hour and you charge $75/hour, you are effectively paying your customers to let you work for them. Knowing this number gives you a "floor" for negotiations and helps you understand when a job is no longer profitable.

Example Scenario

Imagine a solo plumber who wants to earn $80,000 a year. Their truck, insurance, and marketing cost $25,000 annually. They work 48 weeks a year and manage to bill 25 hours per week.

Total annual costs are $105,000. Total billable hours are 1,200 (48 x 25). Their break-even rate is $87.50 per hour. To achieve a 20% profit margin, they would need to charge approximately $109.38 per hour.

Regional Adjustments

While the math provides a baseline, you must also consider your local market. Plumbers in high-cost-of-living areas like San Francisco or New York City may have rates exceeding $200/hour due to massive overhead and labor costs, while those in rural areas might find $90-$120/hour to be the standard. Always use this calculator as your financial foundation, then adjust for your specific niche (service vs. new construction) and local market demand.