Texas HVAC technicians earn a median $27.77/hr (BLS, May 2025). With payroll costs and margin, an HVAC company needs about $102/hr. Work out your own rate.
Data last verified October 23, 2026
BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 49-9021. Last verified: October 23, 2026. BLS series IDs: OEUS480000000000049902108, OEUS480000000000049902103, OEUS480000000000049902107, OEUS480000000000049902109, OEUS480000000000049902101.
The rate works out to about 3.7× the wage. Change any input below to use your own payroll, schedule and margin.
LeadDuo assumptions: payroll taxes 10%, workers' comp 8%, benefits $4 per paid hour, billable time 60% (typical range 55–65%), and a 40% target gross margin that covers overhead and profit. These are modeled values, not published data.
Charge at least
$102.14/hr
Labor only, at $102.14/hr. Parts, equipment, permits and trip charges are extra, so these are not full job prices.
| Job | Typical labor hours | Labor at this rate |
|---|---|---|
| AC tune-up / maintenance visit | 1 | $102 |
| Blower motor replacement | 2 | $204 |
| Split-system AC changeout (crew hours) | 10 | $1,021 |
Labor hours are LeadDuo planning assumptions.
Full job prices with parts: price list template →The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors in two classes: Class A (any size) and Class B (up to 25 tons of cooling). Technicians working for a licensed contractor must be registered with TDLR, and anyone handling refrigerant needs EPA Section 608 certification.
Mechanical permits come from the city: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin each run their own permit and inspection process.
One of the longest cooling seasons in the country: AC repair demand peaks June through September and stays high into the fall across most of the state.
The median HVAC technician wage in Texas is $27.77 an hour ($57,760 a year) per BLS OEWS (May 2025), 5% below the national median of $29.33. The middle half earn $22.50–$33.59 an hour.
At the median wage and LeadDuo's published defaults (10% payroll taxes, 8% workers' comp, $4/hr benefits, 60% billable time, 40% gross margin), an HVAC company in Texas needs about $61.28 per billable hour to cover the technician's cost and about $102.14 an hour to hit a 40% margin. Change the inputs in the calculator to use your own numbers.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors in two classes: Class A (any size) and Class B (up to 25 tons of cooling). Technicians working for a licensed contractor must be registered with TDLR, and anyone handling refrigerant needs EPA Section 608 certification.
BLS counts 34,730 employed HVAC technicians in Texas (May 2025), about 8.5% of the 409,670 nationwide. The count leaves out self-employed owners.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, SOC 49-9021 (Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers). Last verified: October 23, 2026.
Loaded cost, break-even, selling rate and labor per job are LeadDuo calculations from the stated assumptions, not BLS-published figures. How we use public data · Pricing changelog
