How much do handymen make?
The median handymen in the United States earns $23.84 an hour, or $49,590 a year. The bottom 10% earn under $17.00 an hour; the top 10% clear $37.11. There are about 1,529,700 people doing this work nationally.
Those are US Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for employed workers, which is the honest baseline — and also the number most people are actually looking for. What you can bill as a self-employed contractor is a different question, and we cover it below.
One caveat on the occupation. BLS tracks this as Maintenance & Repair Workers, General (SOC 49-9071), which is mostly employed facilities staff. A self-employed handyman billing by the hour typically charges well above these employed rates — see our hourly-rate guide for what customers actually pay.
The full range
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $17.00 | $35,360 |
| Median | $23.84 | $49,590 |
| Average (mean) | $25.86 | $53,789 |
| Top 10% | $37.11 | $77,189 |
The top decile earns 2.2× what the bottom decile earns, and 56% above the median. That gap is the useful part of this data: it is not really one job with one wage, it is a wide range where skill, licence and market decide where you land.
Where it pays most
District of Columbia pays the highest median at $29.00 an hour; West Virginia the lowest at $18.70. That is a 1.6× difference for the same job.
Highest paying states
| State | Median hourly | Annual | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $29.00 | $60,310 | +22% |
| Alaska | $28.97 | $60,270 | +22% |
| Minnesota | $28.46 | $59,200 | +19% |
| Washington | $28.44 | $59,160 | +19% |
| Massachusetts | $28.04 | $58,320 | +18% |
Lowest paying states
| State | Median hourly | Annual | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | $18.70 | $38,890 | -22% |
| Oklahoma | $20.55 | $42,750 | -14% |
| Arkansas | $20.87 | $43,400 | -12% |
| Alabama | $20.97 | $43,630 | -12% |
| Louisiana | $21.13 | $43,960 | -11% |
Cost of living explains a lot of that spread but not all of it — licensing regimes and the local mix of commercial versus residential work matter too. We have a page for all 51 jurisdictions: see every state's handymen pay data.
What actually moves the number
Breadth is the lever: the more trades you can competently cover, the fewer subs you need and the more of each job you keep. Facilities and property-management contracts pay steadily; one-off residential work pays more per hour but costs more to win.
Employed pay vs what you can bill
Everything above measures employed handymen — W-2 wages. If you work for yourself, your billed rate has to cover a great deal that a wage does not: self-employment tax, insurance, vehicle and tools, unbillable hours spent quoting and chasing payment, and time lost between jobs.
A useful rule is that a self-employed rate needs to be roughly two to three times the equivalent employed wage before you are genuinely ahead. Our profit margin calculator works that out properly from your own overhead rather than a rule of thumb.
FAQ
How much do handymen make an hour?
The national median is $23.84 an hour. The range runs from about $17.00 at the bottom tenth to $37.11 at the top tenth, so where you sit depends heavily on licence level, specialisation and state.
What is a good salary for a handyman?
Above the $49,590 median puts you in the upper half nationally. Clearing $77,189 puts you in the top 10% of the occupation. Adjust for your state — the gap between District of Columbia and West Virginia is roughly 1.6×.
Which state pays handymen the most?
District of Columbia, at a median of $29.00 an hour — 22% above the national median. Cost of living offsets some of that, so compare take-home rather than headline rate.
Can handymen make six figures?
As an employee it is uncommon: the top 10% reach about $77,189. It is far more achievable running your own business, where you keep the margin on other people's labour as well as your own — but that is a different job, with the overhead and risk to match.
Where does this data come from?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, 2025 release, for Maintenance & Repair Workers, General (SOC 499071). It is the same source used across our state-by-state rate pages, so the figures are directly comparable.