State of the pest control trade, 2026
What pest control technicians earn in every state, where the jobs are, how fast the work is projected to grow, which states license it and what typical pest control jobs cost. Every figure comes from a public dataset or a koira.ai cost guide, with the method below and a CSV of the full table.
The short version
- The national median for pest control technicians is $21.75 an hour ($45,250 a year). Pay runs from $17.82 in New Mexico to $24.66 in Washington.
- Florida has the most pest control technicians on payrolls, 12,400. See pest control technician pay in every state.
- State labor offices project +3.2% more jobs nationally from 2022 to 2032, with about 12,600 openings a year. Utah leads at +41.8%.
- 46 of the 46 states koira.ai has checked require a state license for pest control work, 0 license part of it and 0 leave it to cities and counties. The pest control license guide has each state's steps.
- A typical pest control is about $290 nationally in Koira's pest control cost guide. By state, the Koira estimate runs from $243 in Arkansas to $368 in Hawaii.
What pest control technicians earn
Median hourly wage by state, May 2025, the ten highest paying states. BLS published a median for 50 of the 50 states and DC.
The five lowest: New Mexico $17.82, Mississippi $17.89, West Virginia $18.03, Texas $18.11 and Arkansas $18.13.
| Percentile | Hourly |
|---|---|
| 10th | $16.67 |
| 25th | $18.00 |
| Median | $21.75 |
| 75th | $23.85 |
| 90th | $29.75 |
What that wage means for a price
A wage is not a rate. Using the starting numbers of the free labor rate calculator (40 hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and a 15% profit), a business paying the national median has to bill about $108.78 an hour to cover it.
| Where | Median wage | Rate to bill |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $21.75 | $108.78 |
| Washington, highest median | $24.66 | $113.90 |
| New Mexico, lowest median | $17.82 | $101.88 |
Change any of those numbers in the calculator to see your own rate. The CSV has the rate for every state.
Where the work is
The ten states with the most pest control technicians employed, May 2025.
Where the trade is most concentrated
Pest Control Technicians per 1,000 jobs of every kind in the state. A high number means the trade is a bigger share of local work than it is nationally.
Jobs outlook
State labor market offices project pest control workers jobs nationally to go from 95,000 in 2022 to 98,000 in 2032, a change of +3.2%, with about 12,600 openings a year from growth, retirements and people leaving the trade.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, on a newer base, projects 6% growth for pest control workers from 2025 to 2035, about 13,700 openings a year.
The ten states with the fastest projected growth, 2022 to 2032. Projections exist for 39 states.
Slowest: Michigan -1.6%, Maine 0.0% and Alaska 0.0%. The path into the trade, state by state, is in how to become a pest control technician.
Licensing
Does the state require a state license for pest control work? Each answer comes from the state's own board or statute.
- State license: 46 states.
- Partly licensed (residential only, above a dollar amount, or a registration): 0. Local only: 0. Not checked yet: 5.
- 31 of the 46 checked states put an insurance or bond rule in the license itself.
What pest control jobs cost
National price ranges from Koira's cost guides. Each guide takes the low, average and high figures of two or more published cost guides and shows them.
| Job | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosquito control | $120 | $250 | $380 |
| Pest control | $130 | $290 | $440 |
| Wildlife removal | $200 | $400 | $600 |
| Mouse and rat control | $300 | $440 | $590 |
| Termite treatment | $470 | $1,250 | $2,600 |
| Bed bug treatment | $400 | $1,850 | $3,500 |
| Tenting and fumigation | $2,500 | $5,500 | $8,000 |
One job, state by state
Koira estimates of a typical pest control in the ten most expensive states. Only the labor share of the price moves with the state's BLS wage; materials do not.
Every state
| State | Median hourly | Employed | Jobs 2022 to 2032 | State license | Typical pest control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $21.75 | 102,620 | +3.2% | 46 states | $290 |
| Alabama | $18.47 | 2,540 | +9.3% | Yes | $250 |
| Alaska | $22.55 | 40 | 0.0% | Not checked yet | $345 |
| Arizona | $21.36 | 3,200 | +16.7% | Not checked yet | $285 |
| Arkansas | $18.13 | 1,030 | +17.4% | Yes | $243 |
| California | $22.69 | Not published | +26.0% | Yes | $331 |
| Colorado | $23.39 | 970 | +14.1% | Yes | $296 |
| Connecticut | $23.56 | 880 | +16.7% | Yes | $331 |
| Delaware | $21.78 | 300 | Not published | Yes | $289 |
| District of Columbia | Not published | Not published | Not published | Yes | $326 |
| Florida | $21.31 | 12,400 | +16.6% | Yes | $255 |
| Georgia | $18.20 | 5,770 | +13.8% | Yes | $257 |
| Hawaii | $23.35 | 740 | Not published | Yes | $368 |
| Idaho | $19.34 | 620 | +7.1% | Yes | $278 |
| Illinois | $22.33 | 2,470 | +3.4% | Yes | $362 |
| Indiana | $18.56 | 1,670 | +3.4% | Yes | $298 |
| Iowa | $21.78 | 540 | +6.0% | Yes | $290 |
| Kansas | $18.60 | 760 | +2.6% | Not checked yet | $274 |
| Kentucky | $20.34 | 1,030 | Not published | Yes | $268 |
| Louisiana | $21.43 | 1,930 | +0.5% | Yes | $257 |
| Maine | $23.24 | 320 | 0.0% | Yes | $293 |
| Maryland | $22.77 | 1,670 | +6.5% | Yes | $291 |
| Massachusetts | $21.90 | 1,900 | Not published | Yes | $351 |
| Michigan | $21.38 | 1,460 | -1.6% | Yes | $296 |
| Minnesota | $20.02 | 670 | Not published | Yes | $334 |
| Mississippi | $17.89 | 960 | +9.1% | Yes | $247 |
| Missouri | $20.53 | 1,440 | +4.6% | Yes | $297 |
| Montana | $20.06 | 100 | Not published | Yes | $295 |
| Nebraska | $18.73 | 460 | +4.8% | Yes | $270 |
| Nevada | $23.67 | 790 | +20.8% | Yes | $297 |
| New Hampshire | $23.08 | 260 | +9.1% | Not checked yet | $292 |
| New Jersey | $23.45 | 2,270 | +6.0% | Yes | $337 |
| New Mexico | $17.82 | 320 | +8.1% | Yes | $257 |
| New York | $23.33 | 4,220 | Not published | Yes | $327 |
| North Carolina | $21.51 | 4,870 | +10.0% | Yes | $255 |
| North Dakota | $23.09 | 120 | Not published | Yes | $296 |
| Ohio | $19.28 | 2,170 | +1.0% | Yes | $299 |
| Oklahoma | $18.77 | 1,310 | Not published | Yes | $253 |
| Oregon | $22.39 | 740 | Not published | Yes | $312 |
| Pennsylvania | $21.98 | 2,260 | +3.0% | Yes | $293 |
| Rhode Island | $21.65 | 270 | Not published | Yes | $302 |
| South Carolina | $20.73 | 2,660 | +15.7% | Yes | $256 |
| South Dakota | $24.00 | 190 | +16.7% | Yes | $258 |
| Tennessee | $19.08 | 3,340 | +11.0% | Yes | $259 |
| Texas | $18.11 | 9,470 | +18.7% | Yes | $255 |
| Utah | $21.51 | 1,050 | +41.8% | Yes | $282 |
| Vermont | $22.27 | 80 | +25.0% | Yes | $291 |
| Virginia | $22.09 | 3,040 | +3.8% | Yes | $279 |
| Washington | $24.66 | 1,430 | +17.9% | Yes | $344 |
| West Virginia | $18.03 | 460 | +17.6% | Yes | $283 |
| Wisconsin | $21.81 | 1,060 | +8.7% | Yes | $304 |
| Wyoming | $21.40 | 50 | +28.6% | Not checked yet | $291 |
How this report is made
Pay and employment are cells from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics files for May 2025 (state file, national file), occupation code 37-2021, all industries. They count people on a payroll; owner-operators are not in them. A cell BLS did not publish reads "Not published" and is empty in the CSV.
The rate to bill is the labor rate calculator's formula with its starting assumptions listed above and only the wage changed: the yearly cost of the worker plus overhead, spread over the billable hours, then a profit margin on top.
Job projections are each state labor market office's long-term projection for 2022 to 2032, published together by Projections Central. A state missing from that file has no figure here. The national outlook line quotes the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Licensing counts only rows of the pest control license guide that an official board or statute page confirmed. States not checked yet are shown that way, never guessed. This is not legal advice.
Job prices come from the koira.ai cost guides. The national band is worked out from the published guides each one lists. State prices are Koira estimates: the labor share of the band is scaled by the state's BLS median wage for the work over the national median, held to 0.7 to 1.4. See the job prices by state report for the same method across trades.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Pest Control Workers; Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2022 to 2032 (state labor market offices); Fixr, mosquito control cost; Today's Homeowner, mosquito control cost; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files); Fixr, pest control cost; HomeAdvisor, pest control cost; Bob Vila, pest control cost; Today's Homeowner, pest control cost; Fixr, wildlife removal cost; HomeAdvisor, wildlife removal cost; Bob Vila, wildlife removal cost; Today's Homeowner, wildlife removal cost; Fixr, mouse and rat control cost; Today's Homeowner, mouse and rat control cost; Fixr, termite treatment cost; Today's Homeowner, termite treatment cost; Fixr, bed bug treatment cost; Today's Homeowner, bed bug treatment cost; Fixr, tenting and fumigation cost; Bob Vila, tenting and fumigation cost; Today's Homeowner, tenting and fumigation cost.
Running a pest control business? See how pest control businesses run on Koira, free on the Office plan.
Data as of: BLS wages and employment, May 2025. Job projections, 2022 to 2032 (Projections Central). License rows checked October 9, 2026. Cost guides checked October 9, 2026. All reports.