Commercial trade rates in San Francisco.
Estimated commercial rates for all 8 trades tracked in San Francisco, 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)$103/hr median · $75–$176 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)$123/hr median · $84–$188 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–$147 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)$84/hr median · $62–$116 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)$58/hr median · $48–$78 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)$64/hr median · $55–$87 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)$98/hr median · $75–$114 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)$118/hr median · $76–$145 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 San Francisco
- Labour market: The Bay Area combines high union density in commercial trades with the highest cost of living in the US, driving the elevated wage and billed-rate levels seen here.
- Climate and seasonality: Mild, fog-influenced climate; the region sits in an active seismic zone, and a large stock of older buildings drives ongoing seismic retrofit work in addition to routine trade maintenance.
- Code and licensing: California's Title 24 energy code and seismic provisions apply, and San Francisco adds its own seismic retrofit ordinances (e.g. for soft-story buildings) and a notoriously slow, expensive permitting process.
Frequently asked questions
- What do commercial trade rates cost in San Francisco?
- Across the 8 trades tracked here, the median commercial hourly rate in San Francisco runs around $94/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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco. 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 San Francisco specifically?
- The Bay Area combines high union density in commercial trades with the highest cost of living in the US, driving 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 San Francisco 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/san-francisco.json.
Evalystar (2025). Commercial facility trade rate benchmarks, San Francisco. Retrieved from https://evalystar.com/rates/us/san-francisco. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.