How Much Should a Plumber Charge per Hour? Work Out Your Rate

TL;DR: Angi's 2026 cost guide puts plumber hourly rates at $45 to $200, with service call fees of $100 to $250 and emergency work at 1.5 to 3 times the normal rate. That's what homeowners pay. Your own rate should come from your costs and how many hours you can actually bill. Here's how to work it out.

From Angi's plumber cost guide (updated March 17, 2026):

Angi says most homeowners pay around $341 for a plumbing job. It also says charging by the hour is the industry standard, and some plumbers charge flat rates for routine jobs like a clogged drain or running toilet.

One note: the same Angi page lists service call fees as $100–$250 in one table and $150–$250 in its summary box. Treat $100–$250 as the wider range.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters at $30.67 an hour ($63,800 a year) as of May 2025. The lowest 10% earned under $44,150 a year and the top 10% over $108,420.

That's employee pay. It doesn't include the van, insurance, or the hours nobody pays for. BLS wage figures also leave out self-employed plumbers.

So don't charge $31 an hour because that's what you made on a crew. You'll go broke by spring.

Do this once a year, or any time your costs change.

1. Pick your yearly pay. What do you want to take home before tax? A median wage is a fair starting point.
2. Add self-employment tax. The IRS rate is 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare. As an employee, your boss paid half. Now you pay all of it.
3. Add your fixed costs. Insurance, van, phone, software, license renewals, tools, accounting, ads.
4. Count billable hours. Only hours you can put on an invoice. Driving, quoting, supply-house runs, and warranty callbacks don't count.
5. Divide, then add profit. Total cost ÷ billable hours = break-even rate. Add a margin on top.

Lines with a source are marked. The rest are round numbers to show the math. Use your own.

Hours: say 48 weeks at 25 billable hours a week. That's 1,200 billable hours.

• Break-even: $93,234 ÷ 1,200 = about $78 an hour.
• With a 15% profit margin: about $89 an hour.

Bill 1,000 hours instead and break-even rises to about $93. Billable hours move your rate more than anything else.

Why no van insurance line? The IRS standard mileage rate is a per-mile figure for running a vehicle, so we use it as a rough figure for the whole van. If you track real van costs instead, add commercial auto. Insureon's median for plumbing businesses is $3,415 a year.

Also note: Insureon's median general liability premium for plumbing businesses is $147 a month. That's more than double its electrician figure. Insureon says repiping, water heater installs, and sewer work cost more to insure because a failed job can mean a big water damage claim. Get a real quote before you set your rate.

A service call fee covers getting to the house and figuring out what's wrong. Angi says most plumbers charge one, sometimes called a diagnostic fee.

How to set it:

1. Time it. Average drive time plus the first 20–30 minutes on site.
2. Cost it. Multiply that time by your hourly rate. Add a share of van cost.
3. Decide what it includes. Diagnosis only? Or the first half hour of work?
4. Say it on the phone. "There's a $___ service fee. That covers the trip and finding the problem. I'll give you a price before I fix anything."
5. Decide on credits. Some plumbers credit the fee if the customer goes ahead. Pick a rule and stick to it.

A customer who hears the fee upfront is far less likely to argue about it than one who first sees it on the invoice.

A 2 a.m. burst pipe pulls you out of bed and ruins the next day. Angi says emergency rates run 1.5 to 3 times normal. Pick your multiplier and your hours ("after 6 p.m., weekends, holidays") and put both on your price list.

Keep labor and parts on separate lines. Mark up parts to cover sourcing, pickup, and returns. If the customer buys their own faucet or toilet, say in writing what you warranty and what you don't.

The Plumber Pricing Calculator ($14.99) is one Excel workbook with a service pricing tab for your hourly rate, service hours and material costs, plus a quote builder with fields for travel and deposit.

To show customers your call fee and common job prices, the Plumber Price List & Service Menu ($4.99) gives you an editable price list as an HTML file and a Word file. For pricing basics beyond plumbing, see How to Price Small Business Services.

Angi's 2026 guide says $45 to $200 an hour. Master plumbers sit at the top, apprentices at the bottom.

Angi lists $100 to $250 for a service call fee, though its summary box says $150 to $250.

Many plumbers do both: hourly for open-ended work and flat rates for routine jobs.

The customer's price pays for the van, insurance, taxes, unbilled time, and profit. BLS wage data covers employees only.

Angi says plumbing companies generally add a trip fee of $50 to $300 for customers more than about 10 miles away. Set a service area and a fee for going beyond it.

Checked October 1, 2026.

• Angi, "How Much Does a Plumber Cost? (2026 Data)," updated Mar 17, 2026
• BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (May 2025 wages)
• IRS, Self-employment tax
• IRS, Standard mileage rates (76¢ Jul–Dec 2026; page updated Jul 28, 2026)
• ; IRB 2026-29, Announcement 2026-11
• Insureon, Plumbing business insurance cost (updated Aug 5, 2026)

This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Rates, costs, and tax situations vary. Check your numbers with an accountant.