Junk Removal profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Junk Removal falls under Waste management and remediation services. For tax year 2023, 30,817 returns reported $4.3 billion in receipts, $1.0 billion in cost of sales and $0.3 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 75.9% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 7.8% |
| Average receipts per return | $140,187 |
| Average net income per return | $10,913 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in junk removal
Junk removal is labor, truck costs and dump fees. Dump fees and heavy items are where a load loses money.
For a worked example, our junk removal cost calculator puts 1/2 truck load at $200 to $400 a load, typical $300, and treats about 60% of that as labor. On the typical price, that is about $180 of labor and $120 of materials, equipment and everything else, before your overhead and profit.
Where junk removal margin leaks, and how to win it back
- Dump fees higher than planned
- Heavy items with no surcharge
- Loads estimated by eye and underpriced
- Second trips to the dump
- Fuel
Ways junk removal companies raise margin: know your dump fees before you quote; add surcharges for heavy items; fill the truck before each dump run; sell donation drop-offs for items that cost to dump.
Check your junk removal prices against the costs
The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:
| Service | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 truck load | $163 | $125 to $200 a load |
| 1/2 truck load | $300 | $200 to $400 a load |
| Full truck load | $700 | $600 to $800 a load |
| Mattress or box spring | $113 | $75 to $150 an item |
| Couch or sectional | $225 | $175 to $275 an item |
| Refrigerator or freezer | $138 | $75 to $200 an item |
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual junk removal menu: 1/4 truck load; 1/2 truck load; full truck load; mattress or box spring; couch or sectional; refrigerator or freezer; tv or electronics; hot tub, cut up and hauled; piano; garage or basement cleanout; estate cleanout; shed demolition; deck demolition.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In junk removal it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are contractors as a group pay an average of $83 a month for; commercial auto at $270 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent junk removal job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for contractors as a group, checked October 9, 2026
- LawnStarter, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Thumbtack, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- This Old House, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HireAHelper, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Homeyou, junk removal cost, checked October 8, 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files), checked October 8, 2026
- US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file, checked October 8, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.