Best States to Start a Pest Control Business in 2026
Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana top our opportunity index. Florida, the largest market in the country, ranks 46th. Market size and market opportunity are not the same thing.
Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas and Michigan rank as the best states to start or expand a pest control business in 2026. Florida, the largest market in the country, ranks 49th of 50. The reason is that market size and market opportunity are different things: Florida already carries 9.85 pest control establishments per 100,000 residents against Ohio’s 3.18.
This is a ranking of where there is room, not where there is demand. Demand for pest control is highest in the warm, humid South, and so is the number of companies already serving it. The states that score well here combine meaningful population, below-average competition and labour you can afford to hire.
How the index works
We scored all 50 states on three inputs drawn from federal data, then weighted them. The full arithmetic is published so anyone can reproduce or reweight it.
| Input | Weight | Direction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive headroom | 45% | Fewer establishments per 100,000 residents scores higher | Census CBP 2023, NAICS 561710 |
| Labour affordability | 30% | Lower median technician wage scores higher | BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 37-2021 |
| Market scale | 25% | Larger population scores higher, capped at 8 million | Census Vintage 2024 estimates |
Each input is normalised to a 0 to 1 range across the 50 states, multiplied by its weight, and summed to a score out of 100. The population term is capped so that Texas and California do not simply win on size. The District of Columbia is excluded because it functions as a single urban market served largely from Maryland and Virginia.
The 12 highest-scoring states
| Rank | State | Opportunity score | Establishments per 100k | Median technician wage | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 85.9 | 3.18 | $40,110 | 11,883,304 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 83.5 | 1.8 | $41,640 | 5,793,151 |
| 3 | Indiana | 82.4 | 3.77 | $38,600 | 6,924,275 |
| 4 | Texas | 82.0 | 4.79 | $37,660 | 31,290,831 |
| 5 | Michigan | 80.2 | 2.55 | $44,470 | 10,140,459 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 73.8 | 3.23 | $45,720 | 13,078,751 |
| 7 | Illinois | 72.9 | 3.11 | $46,450 | 12,710,158 |
| 8 | Georgia | 72.2 | 6.47 | $37,860 | 11,180,878 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 71.3 | 3.28 | $37,510 | 1,769,979 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 69.7 | 3.53 | $45,560 | 7,136,171 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 69.3 | 5.87 | $39,690 | 7,227,750 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 69.0 | 3.09 | $45,350 | 5,960,975 |
Ohio leads on a combination that is rare: nearly 12 million residents, only 378 pest control establishments, and a median technician wage of $40,110. That is 3.18 establishments per 100,000 residents against a national picture where the densest states carry three times as many.
Texas is the outlier in the top five. It scores well despite 1,498 establishments because its population of 31.3 million is large enough to absorb them, and because at $37,660 it has one of the lowest median technician wages in the country. Scale and cheap labour offset competition that would sink a smaller state’s score.
Why Florida ranks 49th
Florida has 2,301 pest control establishments, more than any other state, and year-round termite and mosquito pressure. It is the best pest control market in the country by demand. It is also the most crowded, at 9.85 establishments per 100,000 residents, roughly triple Ohio.
For an operator, that distinction is the whole point. Entering Florida means competing against established firms with mature routes in a market where customers can call fifteen companies. Our Market Density Index maps that supply picture in full, and this ranking is the decision layer on top of it.
The lowest-scoring states
| Rank | State | Opportunity score | Establishments per 100k | Median technician wage | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Delaware | 44.9 | 4.66 | $45,300 | 1,051,917 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | 44.2 | 3.97 | $48,000 | 1,409,032 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 42.5 | 4.08 | $48,570 | 1,446,146 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 41.5 | 3.46 | $49,920 | 924,669 |
| 49 | Florida | 39.7 | 9.85 | $44,320 | 23,372,215 |
| 50 | Nevada | 34.7 | 6.24 | $49,240 | 3,267,467 |
Two different problems appear at the bottom. Nevada and Florida score poorly on saturation. South Dakota, New Hampshire and Hawaii score poorly on scale, with populations under 1.5 million, and on labour cost, with median wages near or above $48,000.
None of this means these states are unworkable. A well-run business succeeds in a crowded market by being better, and thin markets reward whoever is already there. The index measures how much the structural conditions help you, not whether success is possible.
What the index deliberately does not measure
- Pest pressure. Warm humid states generate more service calls per household. That demand advantage is real and it partly explains why they are crowded. We measure supply, not demand.
- Cost of living. Wages are unadjusted. A $40,110 median in Ohio buys a different life than $37,660 in Texas.
- Licensing friction. Exam schedules, fees and reciprocity vary and can delay entry by weeks. See our federal licensing framework guide.
- Route density within a state. A state average conceals enormous variation between a metro and a rural county, and route density is what actually drives margin.
- Reference years differ. Establishment data is 2023, wages are May 2025, population is 2024. State market structure moves slowly, but the inputs are not contemporaneous.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best state to start a pest control business?
On our index Ohio ranks first, followed by Minnesota, Indiana, Texas and Michigan. These combine meaningful population with below-average competition and affordable labour. Ohio has nearly 12 million residents but only 378 pest control establishments, a density of 3.18 per 100,000 against Florida’s 9.85.
Why does Florida rank badly if pest control demand is highest there?
Because demand and opportunity are different. Florida has the most establishments in the country at 2,301 and the highest density at 9.85 per 100,000 residents, so a new entrant competes against mature routes in a market where customers have many alternatives. Strong demand is why the competition is already there.
Is it better to start in a competitive market or a thin one?
Thin markets have less competition but higher labour costs and often pronounced seasonality, while dense markets offer year-round work at compressed prices. Across the 50 states the correlation between establishment density and payroll per employee is -0.59, so no market is both easy to sell in and cheap to staff.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561710, establishments by state.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-2021, median annual wage by state.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 state population estimates.