- The middle half earn between $20.01 and $27.35 an hour.
- California ranks 13th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- California pays more than 2 of its 3 neighboring states.
- At the state median wage, a pest control company needs to bill about $110.44 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Pest Control Technician pay in California, bottom to top
The BLS group is pest control workers: the technicians who inspect, treat and set traps in homes and businesses.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.84 | $37,110 | $16.67 |
| 25th percentile | $20.01 | $41,620 | $18.00 |
| Median | $22.69 | $47,190 | $21.75 |
| 75th percentile | $27.35 | $56,880 | $23.85 |
| 90th percentile | $31.53 | $65,580 | $29.75 |
| Average (mean) | $24.21 | $50,360 | $22.31 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.84) to the top tenth ($31.53), the top of the scale pays about 1.8 times the bottom in California, close to the 1.8 times spread for pest control technicians nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $17.84 against $16.67 at the bottom tenth, and $31.53 against $29.75 at the top.
The average, $24.21, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $47,190 in California against $45,250 nationally, $1,940 more.
In the state ranking, California sits 13th, between Maryland ($22.77) and Alaska ($22.55). The range runs from $17.82 in New Mexico to $24.66 in Washington.
Against its neighboring states, California is in the middle: Nevada pays more, and Arizona and Oregon pay less.
How many pest control technicians work in California
BLS did not publish a count of pest control technicians employed in California for May 2025. That happens when the survey sample is too thin to estimate the number with confidence. The wage figures above were published and are used as they are.
What a pest control company in California should charge
Say you run a pest control company in California and pay the state median of $22.69 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on its starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $22.69 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $50,806 |
| Break-even rate | ($50,806 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.87 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.87 ÷ 0.85 | $110.44 |
That is $110.44 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $1.65 more than the $108.78 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $27.35 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $118.62.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $20.01, the rate only drops to $105.73.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a pest control technician in California
- Licensing. What California asks for before you can work on your own: Pest control license in California.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how pest control companies run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 37-2021, pest control workers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: pest control technician salary by state.