Commercial trade rates in Boston.
Estimated commercial rates for all 8 trades tracked in Boston, built from O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates wage data, for facility and property teams benchmarking vendor invoices.
Rates by trade
Plumbing (estimated)$128/hr median · $75–$170 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
Electrical (estimated)$106/hr median · $70–$147 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
HVAC and Refrigeration (estimated)$104/hr median · $74–$140 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
General Maintenance (estimated)$79/hr median · $58–$105 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
Janitorial and Cleaning (estimated)$62/hr median · $46–$72 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
Landscaping and Grounds (estimated)$65/hr median · $55–$85 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
Roofing (estimated)$88/hr median · $72–$113 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
Carpentry (estimated)$99/hr median · $73–$142 range
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA), from BLS OEWS metropolitan area wage estimates, using a documented service multiplier.
What's different in Boston
- Labour market: Massachusetts has some of the strongest building-trades union locals in the Northeast, a primary driver of the elevated wage and billed-rate levels seen here, among the highest of any Stage A/B US city.
- Climate and seasonality: Cold winters with freeze-thaw cycling and a large stock of older commercial buildings drive year-round plumbing, roofing, and HVAC work.
- Code and licensing: Massachusetts licenses plumbers, electricians, and gasfitters at the state level; Boston applies its own zoning and permitting requirements on a notably old and dense commercial building stock.
Frequently asked questions
- What do commercial trade rates cost in Boston?
- Across the 8 trades tracked here, the median commercial hourly rate in Boston runs around $91/hr, though it varies significantly by trade: see the table above for each one.
- Is this a real measured rate, or an estimate?
- Every rate on this page is currently an estimate: each trade's Boston wage, multiplied by a documented service multiplier that converts an employee wage into a billed commercial rate. It is not drawn from actual invoices or job records. The full model is on the methodology page.
- Why a range instead of a single number?
- A single average hides the real spread: in the underlying wage data for estimated trades, and between emergency/scheduled and contract/ad-hoc work for measured ones. We show low, median, and high so the range reflects that honestly.
- Is this a residential or commercial rate?
- Commercial. These figures track facility-side trade work for businesses, property managers, and multi-site operators in Boston. Commercial rates typically run above residential rates for the same trade, reflecting insurance, code compliance, and scheduling requirements that residential work doesn't carry.
- What's driving trade rates in Boston specifically?
- Massachusetts has some of the strongest building-trades union locals in the Northeast, a primary driver of the elevated wage and billed-rate levels seen here, among the highest of any Stage A/B US city.
Methodology
These figures are built from regional wage data multiplied by a documented service multiplier, or, where enough real job records exist, measured directly from vendor work logged in Evalystar. See the full model, sources, and what upgrades an estimate to a measured rate on the methodology page.
Nearby cities
Cite this data
These Boston benchmarks are published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them anywhere, including commercially, as long as you attribute Evalystar. The machine-readable version is at /api/rates/us/boston.json.
Evalystar (2025). Commercial facility trade rate benchmarks, Boston. Retrieved from https://evalystar.com/rates/us/boston. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.