- The middle half earn between $16.83 and $29.19 an hour.
- Delaware ranks 22nd of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- Delaware pays less than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 300 pest control technicians on payrolls in Delaware.
- At the state median wage, a pest control company needs to bill about $108.84 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Pest Control Technician pay in Delaware, 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 | $15.00 | $31,200 | $16.67 |
| 25th percentile | $16.83 | $35,010 | $18.00 |
| Median | $21.78 | $45,300 | $21.75 |
| 75th percentile | $29.19 | $60,710 | $23.85 |
| 90th percentile | $35.62 | $74,090 | $29.75 |
| Average (mean) | $23.14 | $48,130 | $22.31 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Delaware. The bottom tenth earn $15.00 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $35.62 or more, a gap of 2.4 times against 1.8 nationally. Where a pest control technician sits on that range matters as much as the state.
The bottom of the scale is lower than nationally ($15.00 against $16.67) while the top is higher ($35.62 against $29.75), so the climb from new hire to top earner is longer here.
The average, $23.14, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Delaware compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $45,300 in Delaware against $45,250 nationally, $50 more.
In the state ranking, Delaware sits 22nd, between Wisconsin ($21.81) and Rhode Island ($21.65). Iowa has exactly the same median, $21.78, so the two share that place. The range runs from $17.82 in New Mexico to $24.66 in Washington.
Every one of the neighboring states pays pest control technicians more than Delaware. The closest is Pennsylvania at $21.98, and the biggest gap is with New Jersey.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Delaware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | $21.78 | $45,300 | |
| Maryland | $22.77 | $47,360 | +$0.99 an hour |
| New Jersey | $23.45 | $48,780 | +$1.67 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $21.98 | $45,720 | +$0.20 an hour |
How many pest control technicians work in Delaware
About 300 pest control technicians work on payrolls in Delaware, 0.3% of the 102,620 nationwide, the 41st largest count among the states.
That is 0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in Delaware, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a pest control company in Delaware should charge
Say you run a pest control company in Delaware and pay the state median of $21.78 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 | $21.78 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $48,768 |
| Break-even rate | ($48,768 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $92.51 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $92.51 ÷ 0.85 | $108.84 |
That is $108.84 per billable hour, 5 times the wage, and almost the same as the $108.78 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.19 in Delaware, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.85.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $16.83, the rate only drops to $100.14.
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 Delaware
- Licensing. What Delaware asks for before you can work on your own: Pest control license in Delaware.
- 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.