HVAC & Plumbing Contractors

The 107,000 HVAC and plumbing contractors in the US provide installation, repair, and maintenance services for air handling and water management systems. Just over 60% of HVAC and plumbing contractors are solo operators. Contractors may specialize in residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial service.

Dependence On Construction Industry

Demand for HVAC and plumbing services is highly dependent on trends in the construction industry.

Increasing Sophistication Of HVAC Systems

Demand for improved efficiency in the non-residential market has led to increasingly complex HVAC systems and automated monitoring programs.

Aug 17, 2026 - Trane Notches Hefty Backlog Surge

• Facilities Dive reported that Trane Technologies' order backlog jumped 70% year over year to $12.1 billion in the second quarter, driven largely by strong demand for commercial HVAC systems, including data center cooling. The firm's Americas commercial HVAC bookings rose 50%, while applied-business (data centers and other large enterprise customers) bookings increased 130%. The company said continued capacity expansions have enabled it to keep accepting orders. Strong demand could benefit HVAC contractors by supporting installation, retrofit, controls, and maintenance opportunities tied to data centers and other commercial facilities. Trane also highlighted growing use of efficient closed-loop air cooling, its expanded liquid-cooling capabilities through LiquidStack, and smart-building technology from BrainBox AI. Quarterly revenue rose 11% to $6.4 billion, prompting Trane to raise its full-year revenue growth guidance from a previously estimated 9.5% to 11.5%.
• Home remodeling spending growth is expected to slow through mid-2027, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) report released in July by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. Homeowner spending on improvements and repairs is expected to increase by 2.1% to $517 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with Q3 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2026, remodeling spending will again rise by 2.1% from Q4 2025 to $520 billion. Spending growth will then slow to 0.7% in the first quarter of 2027, reaching $524 billion. In the second quarter of 2027, year-over-year spending is forecast to rise just 0.5%, dropping to a total of $519 billion. Remodeling, permitting, and building product sales have remained flat recently, and remodeling activity growth is projected to remain sluggish absent a rebound in US home sales.
• Multifamily developer confidence weakened in the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) latest Multifamily Market Survey. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) dropped three points to 43 compared to the second quarter of 2025. The Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) decreased by 8 points to 74 over the same period. An MPI or MOI reading of 50 or more indicates that multifamily production or occupancy, respectively, is growing. Multifamily developers’ headwinds include volatility in building materials costs, high interest rates, and regulatory difficulties. While the NAHB expects the recently enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to help alleviate some building industry challenges, the law's policies will take time to implement.
• US construction and engineering spending is expected to decline 1% in 2026 after remaining flat in 2025, according to FMI's third-quarter 2026 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. Office construction is projected to grow 2%, with a 21% increase in data center spending offsetting continued weakness in traditional office construction. Amusement and recreation (+2%), transportation (+1%), and communication (+3%) also remain stable. Several building segments are expected to decline, including lodging (-9%), commercial (-5%), health care (-0.2%), education (-1%), and public safety (-4%). Manufacturing construction is forecast to fall 17% as semiconductor fabs and battery plants move beyond their most spending-intensive phases. Residential construction remains constrained by elevated mortgage rates and affordability pressures. Single-family spending is projected to drop 4%, while multifamily spending declines 1% as rents remain soft and concessions limit new development. Residential improvements are expected to rise by 5%, supported by home equity financing and inflation in renovation costs.

Industry size & Structure

The average plumbing and HVAC contractor employs 12 workers and generates about $2.9 million in annual revenue.

• The HVAC and plumbing contractor industry consists of 107,000 companies, employs more than 1.3 million workers and generates $306.3 billion annually.
• Just over 60% of HVAC and plumbing contractors are solo operators and generate about $78,300 annually.
• Major customer segments include single family homes (20% of industry business), office buildings (10%), manufacturing and industrial buildings (5%), educational buildings (8%), commercial buildings (7%), health care and institutional buildings (6%), and apartment buildings (4%).
• Large companies include EMCOR Group, Comfort Systems USA, Johnson Controls, and ARS Rescue Rooter.