Where Pest Control Grew Since 2019, State by State
The US pest control industry added 24,560 jobs and 2,229 establishments between 2019 and 2024, growing employment 19.2 per cent and average pay 24 per cent, to $57,274. The growth was not evenly spread. Utah’s employment grew 96.1 per cent and Idaho’s 76.8 per cent, while Maryland managed 5.4 per cent and lost 11 per cent of its establishments, which is what consolidation looks like in the data.
Industry growth is usually described in press releases. These figures come from federal payroll records covering every employer in the industry that pays unemployment insurance, compared across five years.
The national picture
| Measure | 2019 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establishments | 15,377 | 17,606 | +14.5% |
| Employment | 127,614 | 152,174 | +19.2% |
| Average annual pay | $46,177 | $57,274 | +24.0% |
| Total annual wages | $8.72bn |
Employment grew faster than establishment count, which means the average firm got slightly larger, from 8.3 employees to 8.6. Pay grew faster than either, though not dramatically faster than inflation over the same period.
Where it grew
The growth map looks like a migration map. Utah, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire and Michigan lead on employment growth, and the top of that list is dominated by states that gained population and housing over the same five years.
Idaho is the standout for a different reason: employment grew 76.8 per cent while establishments grew 147.2 per cent. New firms arrived faster than employment did, which is the signature of a market filling up with small operators rather than existing firms expanding.
Where it consolidated
No state lost pest control employment over the period. But two grew employment while losing establishments, which is a more interesting signal than a decline would be.
| State | Employment change | Establishment change |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | +5.4% | -11.0% |
| Hawaii | +6.6% | -11.8% |
Fewer firms doing more work with more people is the definition of consolidation. In both states the number of businesses fell by more than a tenth while the workforce grew, meaning the surviving firms absorbed both the work and the staff. Our separate coverage of industry consolidation looks at the acquisition side of that.
California is worth noting as the slow giant: 18,316 employees, the second largest market in the country, but employment growth of only 9.9 per cent, roughly half the national rate.
It grew every year, including the year it supposedly shrank
Federal payroll records show employment rising in every year of the period: 127,614 in 2019, 130,202 in 2020, 138,027 in 2021, 144,190 in 2022, 147,231 in 2023 and 152,174 in 2024. There is no down year.
That matters because the Census Bureau’s business patterns programme, which we used for our market density index, recorded employment in the same industry falling 0.5 per cent between 2022 and 2023, while establishments rose 2.8 per cent. We reported that at the time and said a single year was not a trend. The payroll series now answers the question: for the same year it shows employment up 2.1 per cent, and the five-year direction is unambiguous.
The two programmes are not contradicting each other so much as measuring different things. The Census series counts employment in a single reference pay period in March and treats establishments differently; the payroll series averages twelve months of unemployment-insurance filings. A seasonal industry that is growing but hiring later in the spring can look flat in a March snapshot, which is plausibly what happened. For change over time we now use the payroll series. For fine geography, where Census publishes more detail, we still use Census.
The same caution applies to headcount generally. This series counts 152,174 people employed in the industry, including office, sales and management staff. The occupational survey counts about 102,620 people working as pest control workers specifically. Both are correct and they measure different populations, which we set out in the job outlook.
What it means
- For operators choosing a market, the growth states are where housing grew, and the Idaho pattern warns that fast growth attracts competitors faster than it grows the customer base. Our state comparison is in the best states to run a pest control business.
- For anyone valuing a business, pay rising 24 per cent in five years sets a floor under labour cost that has to be priced in. See business valuation and pricing.
- For technicians, average industry pay of $57,274 is the whole-industry figure, not the technician figure, which is lower and covered in technician pay by state.
- For everyone, an industry adding jobs at 19 per cent over five years is growing considerably faster than the labour market as a whole.
How we did this
We used the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages annual files for NAICS 561710, comparing 2019 and 2024 at national and state level, private ownership only. We report percentage change in average annual establishments, average annual employment and average annual pay, and we exclude states averaging fewer than 500 employees in 2024 from the ranked comparison so that small bases do not dominate.
QCEW covers employment covered by unemployment insurance, which is the great majority of the industry but excludes some sole proprietors without employees. Growth in establishments should therefore be read as growth in employing firms.
Frequently asked questions
How fast is the pest control industry growing?
Employment grew 19.2 per cent between 2019 and 2024, from 127,614 to 152,174, and the number of establishments grew 14.5 per cent, from 15,377 to 17,606. Total industry wages reached $8.72 billion in 2024.
Which state’s pest control industry grew fastest?
Utah, where employment grew 96.1 per cent over the five years, followed by Idaho at 76.8 per cent and Maine at 56.6 per cent. Growth clusters in states that gained housing and population over the same period.
Did any state’s pest control industry shrink?
None lost employment. Two lost establishments while gaining employment: Maryland, down 11.0 per cent in firms but up 5.4 per cent in jobs, and Hawaii, down 11.8 per cent in firms and up 6.6 per cent in jobs. That combination indicates consolidation rather than decline.
What does the average pest control employee earn?
Average annual pay across the industry was $57,274 in 2024, up 24 per cent from $46,177 in 2019. That figure includes office, sales and management staff, so it is higher than the typical technician wage.
Did pest control employment fall in 2023?
Not on the federal payroll data, which shows employment rising 2.1 per cent between 2022 and 2023 and in every other year since 2019. The Census business patterns programme recorded a 0.5 per cent decline for that year, based on a single March reference period. Over five years the payroll series shows growth of 19.2 per cent.
Is the industry consolidating?
In places. Nationally the average firm grew only slightly, from 8.3 to 8.6 employees. But Maryland and Hawaii both lost more than a tenth of their establishments while adding employment, which is consolidation showing up in the payroll data.
How does this compare with the occupational employment figure?
This series counts 152,174 people employed in the pest control industry. The occupational survey counts roughly 102,620 people working specifically as pest control workers. The gap is office, sales and management staff, plus differences in how the two programmes are built.
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, NAICS 561710, annual files 2019 and 2024. bls.gov
- Analysis by The Pest Control Brief, September 2026.
