Pest Control Technician Pay by State
What this page is. Every published federal wage figure for pest control workers, by state, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme for May 2025. It covers the occupation, SOC 37-2021, which is the technician doing the work rather than everyone employed by a pest control company.
The national picture
| Measure | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Median wage | $45,250 | $21.75 |
| Mean wage | $46,400 | $22.31 |
| 10th percentile | $34,680 | not published separately |
| 90th percentile | $61,890 | not published separately |
| Employment | 102,620 pest control workers | |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile nationally is $27,210. A technician at the top of the distribution earns 1.78 times what one at the bottom earns, which is a narrower spread than most skilled trades and reflects how much of the work is priced as a route rather than as a project.
Key findings
- Washington pays the highest median at $51,300. South Dakota, Nevada, Connecticut and New Jersey complete the top five.
- 23 states pay above the national median of $45,250, which tells you the distribution is pulled up by a small number of large, high-wage states rather than being evenly spread.
- Texas has the second largest workforce in the country at 9,470 and a median of $37,660, below the national figure. Scale and pay are not the same thing in this industry.
- The densest state markets pay less. The correlation between establishments per 100,000 residents and the median technician wage is -0.37 across the 50 states. The densest quartile has a median-of-medians of $41,410. The thinnest quartile has $46,385.
- Nevada has the widest earnings ceiling. Its 10th to 90th percentile range runs $36,680 to $81,420, a spread of $44,740. Idaho has the narrowest at $11,400.
Why the busiest markets pay the least
We first found this pattern in our Market Density Index, using Census payroll data, where the correlation between market density and annual payroll per employee was -0.59. That measure includes office and management staff, so we retested it here against the BLS wage for the technician occupation alone.
The relationship survives the retest but weaker, at -0.37. That is worth stating plainly. Part of what looked like a wage effect in the Census data was a mix effect: dense southern markets run leaner on salaried office staff. The underlying pattern is still there once you strip that out, but it is a moderate association rather than a strong one.
The practical version for a technician: the states with the most pest control companies to work for are, on average, the states where the job pays least. Florida employs 12,400 pest control workers, more than any other state, at a median of $44,320, roughly $930 below the national median.
Where the ceiling is highest
Median pay is the wrong number if you are asking what an experienced, licensed applicator can reach. The 90th percentile is closer to that question.
| State | 10th percentile | 90th percentile | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | $36,680 | $81,420 | $44,740 |
| Minnesota | $27,180 | $70,720 | $43,540 |
| Delaware | $31,200 | $74,090 | $42,890 |
| Wyoming | $29,380 | $71,920 | $42,540 |
| New Mexico | $28,600 | $70,410 | $41,810 |
| Alaska | $35,580 | $75,180 | $39,600 |
| Nebraska | $29,330 | $66,200 | $36,870 |
| New York | $37,550 | $71,960 | $34,410 |
A wide spread usually means one of two things: a market with a strong commercial and fumigation segment paying well above residential route work, or a small sample where a handful of senior roles pull the top of the distribution up. Nevada and Minnesota are the first case. Wyoming, with a small workforce, is closer to the second.
Full table: pest control worker wages by state
Ranked by median annual wage, May 2025.
| Rank | State | Median annual wage | 10th percentile | 90th percentile | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $51,300 | $44,340 | $61,190 | 1,430 |
| 2 | South Dakota | $49,920 | $39,460 | $68,950 | 190 |
| 3 | Nevada | $49,240 | $36,680 | $81,420 | 790 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $49,010 | $39,470 | $58,590 | 880 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $48,780 | $39,830 | $59,680 | 2,270 |
| 6 | Colorado | $48,650 | $38,610 | $71,230 | 970 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $48,570 | $35,500 | $62,670 | 740 |
| 8 | New York | $48,530 | $37,550 | $71,960 | 4,220 |
| 9 | Maine | $48,340 | $46,130 | $60,300 | 320 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $48,020 | $44,600 | $62,580 | 120 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $48,000 | $45,570 | $58,960 | 260 |
| 12 | Maryland | $47,360 | $37,810 | $65,500 | 1,670 |
| 13 | California | $47,190 | $37,110 | $65,580 | not published |
| 14 | Alaska | $46,900 | $35,580 | $75,180 | 40 |
| 15 | Oregon | $46,570 | $39,890 | $59,270 | 740 |
| 16 | Illinois | $46,450 | $36,120 | $62,450 | 2,470 |
| 17 | Vermont | $46,320 | $36,510 | $63,940 | 80 |
| 18 | Virginia | $45,950 | $37,020 | $61,510 | 3,040 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $45,720 | $36,910 | $60,000 | 2,260 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | $45,560 | $36,750 | $62,170 | 1,900 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $45,350 | $36,800 | $59,750 | 1,060 |
| 22 | Delaware | $45,300 | $31,200 | $74,090 | 300 |
| 23 | Iowa | $45,290 | $35,750 | $57,250 | 540 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | $45,030 | $36,920 | $65,250 | 270 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $44,740 | $31,990 | $61,900 | 4,870 |
| 26 | Utah | $44,740 | $33,280 | $47,640 | 1,050 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $44,570 | $27,850 | $58,220 | 1,930 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $44,500 | $29,380 | $71,920 | 50 |
| 29 | Michigan | $44,470 | $38,630 | $61,850 | 1,460 |
| 30 | Arizona | $44,430 | $36,820 | $62,910 | 3,200 |
| 31 | Florida | $44,320 | $34,960 | $61,890 | 12,400 |
| 32 | South Carolina | $43,130 | $32,850 | $59,890 | 2,660 |
| 33 | Missouri | $42,690 | $29,850 | $48,560 | 1,440 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $42,310 | $30,130 | $61,670 | 1,030 |
| 35 | Montana | $41,730 | $38,360 | $60,350 | 100 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $41,640 | $27,180 | $70,720 | 670 |
| 37 | Idaho | $40,220 | $35,940 | $47,340 | 620 |
| 38 | Ohio | $40,110 | $35,590 | $58,890 | 2,170 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $39,690 | $30,570 | $56,270 | 3,340 |
| 40 | Oklahoma | $39,050 | $29,220 | $58,160 | 1,310 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $38,960 | $29,330 | $66,200 | 460 |
| 42 | Kansas | $38,690 | $27,590 | $60,000 | 760 |
| 43 | Indiana | $38,600 | $35,290 | $60,920 | 1,670 |
| 44 | Alabama | $38,410 | $31,100 | $50,110 | 2,540 |
| 45 | Georgia | $37,860 | $29,310 | $61,520 | 5,770 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $37,710 | $30,900 | $55,970 | 1,030 |
| 47 | Texas | $37,660 | $29,550 | $59,630 | 9,470 |
| 48 | West Virginia | $37,510 | $26,080 | $50,780 | 460 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $37,200 | $28,700 | $53,890 | 960 |
| 50 | New Mexico | $37,070 | $28,600 | $70,410 | 320 |
| 51 | Puerto Rico | $23,410 | $21,840 | $51,870 | 300 |
Methodology
All figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 estimates, occupation code SOC 37-2021 Pest Control Workers, cross-industry, at the state level. We retrieved them through the BLS public API v2 as series of the form OEUS<state FIPS>00000000000372021<datatype>, using datatype 01 for employment, 13 for annual median, 11 for the annual 10th percentile and 15 for the annual 90th percentile.
Establishment density used in the correlation comes from our Market Density Index, built on Census County Business Patterns 2023 and Vintage 2024 population estimates. The correlation is the Pearson coefficient across the 50 states, computed on unweighted state-level observations, with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico excluded.
Data limitations
- Occupation, not industry. These figures count people whose job is pest control work, wherever they are employed. They do not count the office, sales and management staff at a pest control company. Census County Business Patterns reports 139,150 people employed by the industry against the 102,620 counted here. The two are not interchangeable.
- California employment is not published. BLS suppressed the state employment cell for this occupation in May 2025. California wage percentiles are published and are included.
- Wages are not total compensation. OEWS covers straight-time gross pay including incentive pay such as commission, but excludes employer-paid benefits, vehicle use and overtime premiums. In an industry where route technicians often earn production bonuses, this matters.
- Percentiles are not career stages. The 90th percentile is not “what you earn after ten years”. It is the wage below which 90% of the state’s pest control workers fall at one point in time.
- Two different reference periods. Wage data is May 2025. Density data is 2023, the most recent County Business Patterns year published. We use them together for correlation because state-level market structure moves slowly, but they are not contemporaneous.
- Small states carry wide error. States with a few hundred workers produce noisier percentile estimates than states with thousands.
Frequently asked questions
How much do pest control technicians make?
The national median annual wage for pest control workers was $45,250 in May 2025, or $21.75 an hour. The middle 80% of the occupation earned between $34,680 and $61,890.
Which state pays pest control technicians the most?
Washington, at a median of $51,300, followed by South Dakota at $49,920 and Nevada at $49,240. These figures are not adjusted for cost of living.
Is pest control a well paid trade?
It sits below the skilled construction trades and above most general building maintenance work. The distinguishing feature is a narrow spread: the national 90th percentile is 1.78 times the 10th percentile, so the floor is comparatively high and the ceiling comparatively low.
Do busier pest control markets pay more?
No. Across the 50 states the correlation between establishments per 100,000 residents and median technician pay is -0.37. States with the most pest control companies tend to pay less, not more.
Cite this analysis
The Pest Control Brief, “Pest control technician pay by state,” August 2026. Analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-2021.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-2021 Pest Control Workers. bls.gov/oes/current/oes372021.htm
- BLS public data API v2. bls.gov/developers
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561710, for establishment density.