Estimate only — not a licensed bid, appraisal, or tax advice. Numbers stay in your browser.
Bid worksheet
Average contractor hourly rate: gossip vs the rate that feeds your shop
Searchers want “average” numbers. Averages don’t pay your truck note. Paste an average or competitor rate if you want, then calculate your required rate from income, overhead, and billable hours — see the gap.
Line-item workbenchLive calc
Bid stack
- Required rate
- $97.74/hr
- Market / average
- $75.00/hr
- Gap (market − required)
- -$22.74/hr
Market rate is below your required floor.
Common questions
It varies by trade and city. Paste a number you trust; this page does not scrape national averages.
Fewer billable hours or higher overhead — the math shows which.
Only if it still clears your break-even.
No — planning calculator.