HVAC / mechanical
$26,219
standard property / year
about $6,319 gross profit at 24.1%
$3.8B at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →NY134+ New York contractors in market
New York contractor benchmarks and market size
Everything for a New York contractor in one place: bill rates and margins versus the national median, how big the roofing, HVAC, and cleaning market is here, how crowded your revenue tier is, and what skilled labor costs locally.
Key Finding
New York contractors bill $41/hr above the national median
New York's bill rates are among the highest nationally, driven by NYC metro density and union prevalence. Upstate contractors bill well below their NYC counterparts, one of the widest intra-state gaps in the country.
For a 10-tech shop, that $41/hr difference means $820K per year in additional revenue compared to the national median.
New York Bill Rates
Median Bill Rate
$120/hr
National median: $79/hr+$41/hr
75th Percentile
$145/hr
National median: $116/hr+$29/hr
Top 10%
$175/hr
National median: $148/hr+$27/hr
How we measure: state bill rates are modeled from Level's rate-card research across 1,770 contractors, blended across HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical, and skewed commercial. One caveat we surface openly: the underlying rate field is entered inconsistently, some firms record customer billing rates, others record loaded labor cost or base wages, so a state median blends both. Treat these as directional market estimates, not a precise per-state distribution. National operating metrics below are measured; see the contractor benchmark JSON for definitions and sample sizes.
New York market size: how big is the pond?
About $8.5B in combined annual services demand across roughly 7,940 employer firms. Here is how the demand splits and how many competitors sit at each revenue tier.
Commercial Cleaning
$3.7B
work available per year
$0 residential / $3.7B commercial
3,269 employer firms
264 at $1-5M · 69 at $5-10M · 15 at $10-25M
HVAC
$1.3B
work available per year
$714.8M residential / $584.8M commercial
3,332 employer firms
876 at $1-5M · 150 at $5-10M · 41 at $10-25M
Roofing
$3.6B
work available per year
$2.1B residential / $1.5B commercial
1,339 employer firms
390 at $1-5M · 51 at $5-10M · 22 at $10-25M
Competitor counts are US Census employer firms (Statistics of U.S. Businesses): businesses with paid employees, which is the universe that actually competes for $1M+ contracts. It excludes the large tail of no-payroll sole proprietors (who average well under $100K/yr). Revenue-tier splits use the SUSB receipt-size tables (2017, the latest Census publishes receipts for). HVAC is reported as its analyst-estimated share of the combined plumbing+heating+AC NAICS 238220 code, since Census does not isolate HVAC.
Commercial building stock in New York
We count about 143,716 commercial buildings over 4,000 square feet. This building stock is relevant to HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and fire protection.
Counts are by structure, not parcel, and are a coverage floor rather than a complete census. We do not attach one generic all-trade revenue total. The property calculator combines this stock with a separate method for each trade, labels project and partial scopes, and keeps every planning assumption editable.
Serviceable buildings
143,716
commercial structures over 4,000 sqft
Largest building segment
73,290
multifamily
Plumbing and HVAC context
20
buildings per NAICS 238220 location, not an all-trade rival count
| Building type | Buildings | Share of counted stock |
|---|---|---|
| Multifamily | 73,290 | 51.0% |
| Office | 23,209 | 16.1% |
| Education | 19,414 | 13.5% |
| Worship | 9,199 | 6.4% |
| Government | 9,037 | 6.3% |
| Hospitality | 3,893 | 2.7% |
| Healthcare | 3,865 | 2.7% |
| Industrial / manufacturing | 1,560 | 1.1% |
| Warehouse / distribution | 249 | 0.2% |
How this is countedSources, filters, and the scope of the competitor benchmark.
Buildings are counted per structure inside New York, from FEMA/ORNL USA Structures, filtered to commercial occupancies over 4,000 square feet and excluding structures under 3.2 meters tall. Counts are a floor because coverage varies by place.
Competitor counts and employment are Census County Business Patterns for NAICS 238220, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors. They are retained as a clearly labeled mechanical-market comparison, not presented as roofing, electrical, or fire-protection competition.
Property opportunity by trade
What one property, and the local building stock, can represent
A consistent planning view across 15 trades in New York. Annual service scopes add across the measured local inventory. One-time projects stay per property unless a defensible event rate exists.
Electrical
Total annual account revenue
$19,045
standard property / year
about $4,856 gross profit at 25.5%
$2.7B at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Plumbing
Typical permitted plumbing upgrade, when it occurs
$13,692
standard property, when scope occurs
about $3,026 gross profit at 22.1%
Territory total withheld because project timing is not established.
Edit the assumptions →Roofing
Public-award scope reference
$19,855
standard property, when scope occurs
about $7,525 gross profit at 37.9%
Territory total withheld because project timing is not established.
Edit the assumptions →Elevator service
Per elevator, recurring service only
$10,085
standard property / year
about $3,056 gross profit at 30.3%
$111.2M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Commercial refrigeration
Per refrigeration unit, scheduled PM only
$1,606
standard property / year
about $609 gross profit at 37.9%
$111.1M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →See the other 9 trade models
Fire protection
Sprinkler inspection floor only
$658
standard property / year
about $207 gross profit at 31.4%
$94.6M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Cleaning / janitorial
Per cleanable square foot
$41,500
standard property / year
about $5,105 gross profit at 12.3%
$6B at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Landscaping / grounds
Per maintained landscape acre
$1,174
standard property / year
about $274 gross profit at 23.3%
$168.7M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Pest control
Routine recurring general IPM comparison
$291
standard property / year
about $153 gross profit at 52.7%
$41.8M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →Solar service
Commercial solar installation project, when it occurs
$71,635
standard property, when scope occurs
about $27,436 gross profit at 38.3%
Territory total withheld because project timing is not established.
Edit the assumptions →Controls / building automation
Planned BAS labor only
$3,360
standard property / year
about $1,273 gross profit at 37.9%
$482.9M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →General contracting
Interior-renovation contract, when this scope exists
$2,303,000
standard property, when scope occurs
about $320,117 gross profit at 13.9%
Territory total withheld because project timing is not established.
Edit the assumptions →Restoration
Restoration project award, when work occurs
$28,625
standard property, when scope occurs
about $9,675 gross profit at 33.8%
Territory total withheld because project timing is not established.
Edit the assumptions →Commercial doors / docks
Per covered door or gate, scheduled maintenance only
$1,130
standard property / year
about $428 gross profit at 37.9%
$162.4M at 100% local stock capture
Edit the assumptions →These are transparent planning scenarios, not bids or forecasts. Geography changes the inventory count and building-type mix, not the unit price. Every conditional total withheld here is null in the download, never zero.
The New York housing base behind the demand
Residential roofing and HVAC demand tracks the single-family housing stock and its age. Here is the public Census picture for New York, the base the market is sized on.
Single-family homes
4.0M
8.7M total housing units
Median year built
1959
Older stock, replacement-driven
2024 building permits
47K
10,453 single-family (new-construction signal)
Owner-occupied
4.3M
Homes with an owner who pays for the work
What drives demand here: Oldest housing stock in the group plus a heating-dominant climate; replacement, not new build, drives roofing and HVAC. Permits are overwhelmingly multifamily.
Housing figures: US Census ACS 2024 1-year (B25001 housing units, B25024 single-family, B25035 median year built) (Census). Permits: US Census Building Permits Survey 2024 (annual state file) (Census BPS). Permits are a new-construction signal; roofing and HVAC demand is mostly replacement-driven, so read them together with housing age.
National Benchmarks
These metrics are reported nationally. Where your New York business falls depends on your specific operations. See the full national breakdown.
Collection Rate
85.1%
Top quartile: 92.7%
n=464 companies
SA Gross Margin
37.9%
Top quartile: 53%
n=259 companies
Billing Speed
1 day
Raw median (incl. progress billers); ~7 days for post-completion invoicers
n=733 companies
Billing Capture
97.1%
Hours invoiced divided by hours logged on jobs, not "utilization". Top quartile: 100%
n=963 companies
Quote Conversion
73.9%
Top quartile: 83.2%
n=794 companies
New York Bill Rate
$120/hr
Top quartile: $145/hr
134+ New York contractors estimated in market
New York labor market and licensing
What you will pay for skilled labor and what it takes to operate legally in New York, the two inputs that decide whether the demand above is worth chasing.
| Trade | Median wage (BLS) |
|---|---|
| Roofers | $30.46/hr |
| HVAC mechanics and installers | $32.05/hr |
| Janitors and building cleaners | $19.19/hr |
Specialty-trade establishments
30,488
NAICS 238 (all specialty trades), Census 2022
Licensing
No statewide contractor, roofing, or HVAC license; licensing is local (NYC requires a Home Improvement Contractor license via DCWP).
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024, state data, hourly median (Colorado roofer wage suppressed in the 2024 state file, so CO uses May 2023) (BLS OEWS NY; Roofers SOC 47-2181; HVAC mechanics/installers 49-9021; janitors and building cleaners 37-2011). Establishments: US Census County Business Patterns / SUSB 2022, NAICS 238 (specialty trade contractors) (Census SUSB). Licensing from state board and statute; verify current requirements before operating.
Top Trades in New York
HVACPlumbingElectrical
How this is estimatedSources, the estimation method, and how much confidence to place in a state-level figure.
National contractor-services revenue is anchored to definition-matched public figures: roofing ~$70B (US Census 2022 Economic Census, NAICS 238160 employer receipts), HVAC services ~$24B (industry research; residential is the larger share in the US), and commercial janitorial ~$60B (a commercial-only slice of the ~$80B US janitorial total). Each national total is allocated to states by that state's relative share of housing (residential) and commercial activity (commercial), then residential vs commercial is split by the national-average share for the trade. Competitor counts are US Census SUSB employer firms by revenue tier (receipt-size tables), redistributed to states by each state's relative share. This is directional market sizing; treat the numbers as estimates and read residential/commercial as an assumed split, not a measured one.
Directional market sizing, not an independent per-state survey. National totals are anchored to definition-matched published figures (contractor-services revenue, not materials markets); the state distribution is a modeled share and residential vs commercial is applied as a national-average split, not measured per state. Figures are estimates, ranges where noted.
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