Commercial trade rates in New York.
Estimated commercial rates for all 8 trades tracked in New York, 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)$104/hr median · $74–$156 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)$104/hr median · $75–$182 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)$103/hr median · $74–$135 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 · $56–$104 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)$57/hr median · $44–$74 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)$60/hr median · $45–$70 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)$101/hr median · $71–$142 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)$98/hr median · $72–$141 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 New York
- Labour market: New York City has some of the strongest and highest-paid building-trades union locals in North America (e.g. IBEW Local 3, Plumbers Local 1), a primary driver of the elevated wage and billed-rate levels seen here.
- Climate and seasonality: Four-season climate with freeze-thaw winters and humid summers drives year-round plumbing and HVAC demand; a large stock of older commercial buildings adds electrical and roofing work.
- Code and licensing: New York City administers its own Building and Electrical Code through the Department of Buildings, separate from and generally stricter than New York State's code, with notoriously involved permitting.
Frequently asked questions
- What do commercial trade rates cost in New York?
- Across the 8 trades tracked here, the median commercial hourly rate in New York runs around $88/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 New York 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 New York. 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 New York specifically?
- New York City has some of the strongest and highest-paid building-trades union locals in North America (e.g. IBEW Local 3, Plumbers Local 1), a primary driver of the elevated wage and billed-rate levels seen here.
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 New York 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/new-york.json.
Evalystar (2025). Commercial facility trade rate benchmarks, New York. Retrieved from https://evalystar.com/rates/us/new-york. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.