How much does a Plumbing Business cost to buy?

A typical Plumbing Business sells for 2x to 3x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $150K, expect to pay roughly $300K to $450K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Plumbing Business?

Startup costs range from $30K to $100K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Plumbing Business

Q: What are the profit margins for a Plumbing Business?

The average profit margin for a Plumbing Business is around 25%. Technician wages are the largest cost, plus service vehicles, tools, materials, insurance, licensing, and marketing.

Emergency calls at premium prices, 365 days a year

Bottom line

Accessible entry point; validate local supply before buying.

Plumbing businesses handle everything from leaky faucets to full plumbing installations for residential and commercial clients. Emergency calls command premium pricing, and the skilled trade creates a natural moat against competition. Licensed plumbers are in short supply, making established businesses highly valuable.

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Acquisition score

Strong

Avg Revenue

$600K

Profit Margin

25%

Acquisition Multiple

2x - 3x

Startup Cost

$30K - $100K

How It Works

Customers call for repairs, installations, or emergencies. Plumbers diagnose the issue, quote the job, and perform the work. Revenue comes from service calls, installations, and project work. Emergency and after-hours calls carry significant premiums. Growth comes from adding technicians and expanding service territory.

Revenue Range

Low End

$250K

Typical

$600K

High End

$1.5M

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Watch / verify

Plumbing Business has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Speculative / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+SBA dataset shows 269 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 238220 · Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors

Deals tracked

724

269 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$711K

$299K–$1.6M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$836K

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

217

$500K–1M

151

$1M–2M

154

>$2M

130

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-21.9%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

+44.7%

118 recent · 151 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.50%

14% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Live Oak Banking Company167

The Huntington National Bank51

First Internet Bank of Indiana23

Old National Bank14

Byline Bank13

Where deals happen

FL83

TX64

CA53

PA41

MI32

CO32

WI31

NC27

OH26

IL26

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	MI	$1.8M	$2.1M	10	—
Mar 2026	FL	$700K	$824K	8	—
Mar 2026	NE	$800K	$941K	16	—
Mar 2026	WI	$284K	$334K	5	—
Mar 2026	PA	$1.3M	$1.5M	9	—
Mar 2026	TX	$175K	$206K	9	—
Mar 2026	PA	$75K	$88K	9	—
Mar 2026	TX	$1.3M	$1.5M	9	—
Mar 2026	LA	$320K	$376K	6	Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Mar 2026	WI	$1.2M	$1.4M	6	—

Volume rank #7/544Deal-size rank #263/544Momentum rank #243p90 loan: $2.8MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Emergency work drives high average ticket prices
+Licensed trade creates a barrier to entry
+Essential service — plumbing never becomes optional
+Aging infrastructure keeps demand growing

Cons

-Requires licensed plumbers who are extremely hard to hire
-On-call and emergency work disrupts personal life
-Physical, dirty work — not for everyone

Best For

Licensed plumbers looking to own their business or investors buying existing operations

Operating Costs

Technician wages are the largest cost, plus service vehicles, tools, materials, insurance, licensing, and marketing.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

+$3K/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $900K

Range: $900K (2×) to $2.4M (3×+)

Down payment — 15% ($135K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.50%

SBA median for this category: 9.5%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$135K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$765K

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$10K/mo

$423K total interest

Monthly profit

$13K/mo

at 25% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

+$3K/mo

Down payment paid back in ~52 months

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.