Pool Service Pay vs. Other Home Services: What BLS Data Shows

Pool service owners compete for workers with landscapers, pest control firms, plumbers, HVAC shops, electricians, painters, and roofers. A person who is good with tools has choices. A good pay plan starts with knowing what those choices look like.

The federal wage data does not give pool technicians their own clean row. That makes simple salary claims risky. The best national view starts with the broad industry that contains pool cleaning and maintenance, then compares that group with other home-service industries.

The short version

• The broad building-services group had a $37,110 median annual wage in May 2023.
• Landscaping was $42,720 and pest control was $44,330.
• Electrical and plumbing or HVAC firms were near $60,000 across all jobs in their industries.
• Within building services, installation and repair work paid more than routine grounds and cleaning work.
• These figures cover employees, not self-employed route owners.

First, the pool-service data needs a label

The Census industry list puts swimming pool cleaning and maintenance inside NAICS 561790, Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings. The BLS file provided for this analysis does not publish that six-digit industry by itself. It reports the larger NAICS 561700 group, Services to Buildings and Dwellings.

That limit matters. It keeps the charts honest. It also shows why local pay records are more useful than a national search result when you are setting one technician's wage.

Home-service industry medians

The first chart compares the median annual wage for all occupations in each industry. It includes field workers, office staff, salespeople, supervisors, and managers. Hover or tap a row to see the full industry name and the gap from the building-services proxy.

The recurring-service group sits at the lower end. Landscaping is $5,610 above the building-services median. Pest control is $7,220 higher. Painting is $11,070 higher.

The construction trades are farther away. Roofing is $17,220 higher. Plumbing and HVAC is $21,960 higher. Electrical is $23,430 higher. Licensing, apprenticeship, risk, and a different mix of jobs all help shape those numbers. The chart does not prove that one worker should earn a set amount.

A check against the main field jobs

The named field occupations follow the same rough order. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers had a $37,890 median. Pest control workers were at $43,270. Painters were at $47,210, and roofers were at $49,940. HVAC mechanics and installers were at $54,490.

Electricians had a $60,580 median within electrical contractors. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters had a $61,400 median within plumbing and HVAC firms. Inside the broad building-services group, general maintenance and repair workers had a $43,230 median. That last number may be a closer skill match for repair-capable pool technicians, but it is still not pool-only data.

“how should we pay our techs? How do you pay your tech now? Do you pay them hourly? Are they on salary? Do you pay them per pool?”

Talking Pools Podcast

The median hides a wide range

A single median can look more exact than it is. Each industry has entry-level work, experienced field roles, office jobs, sales roles, and management jobs. The next chart shows the 10th to 90th percentile range for every occupation in each industry.

Hover or tap a row to see its range and median. The dot marks the median. The line shows the span from the 10th percentile to the 90th percentile.

The building-services range runs from $27,940 at the 10th percentile to $60,660 at the 90th percentile. The electrical range runs from $36,720 to $112,830. That does not mean an electrician and a pool cleaner are doing equal work at different prices. It shows how the job mix and top end of each industry differ.

These national figures also hide geography. A tight route in Phoenix does not have the same labor market as a seasonal route in a small northern town. Your best benchmark is the rate needed to hire and keep a good person in the places where you actually operate.

“We pay per stop for cleaning visits, depending on pool or spa and full service or chem check only. Our policy is a minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum visit of 30 minutes (they agree to this at signup). Ensures completion of routes and fair time given to all clients.”

Pool pro via Reddit, 2019 anecdote

That old field example shows how some owners connect pay to route output. It is not a current wage benchmark. Per-stop pay can reward a dense route, but it can also reward rushing if the quality rules are weak.

Where higher-paid work appears inside building services

The broad building-services group has its own pay ladder. Building and grounds work makes up 79.44% of employment and has a $36,340 median. Installation, maintenance, and repair work is a much smaller group, but its median is $45,480. Sales is $53,570. Management is $78,280.

This is not a promised career path. It is a clue about job design. A technician who can only clean has fewer ways to create value than one who can diagnose equipment, complete repairs, explain options, document work, and lead a route.

Owners can use that clue in a simple way: write skill levels. Put water care and safe cleaning at the first level. Add equipment checks and clear notes next. Add approved repairs, customer communication, and route leadership after that. Tie each step to training, proof of skill, and a pay review.

Most of the workforce is still field service

The wage ladder can make the smaller, higher-paid groups look more prominent than they are. Building and grounds roles account for 79.44% of employment in the broad industry. The five named groups in the chart above account for 93.76% combined, while all other occupation groups make up the remaining 6.24%.

“Clearly outline what tasks will be paid on a piecework basis, and then make sure you establish fair compensation.”

Talking Pools Podcast

How to turn a national benchmark into a pay plan

Start with the market, then use your own route math. A wage must fit the local labor market. The full cost also includes payroll taxes, workers' compensation, paid time, training, truck time, and callbacks. Our pool technician cost-per-stop guide walks through that loaded cost.

1. Compare the right jobs

Do not compare a first-week cleaner with a licensed electrician. Compare the real skills, risk, driving, schedule, and customer contact in your open role. Check local job posts and talk with applicants about the other jobs they are considering.

2. Pay for skill, not speed alone

A fast stop that causes a callback is not efficient. Track service proof, water results, notes, repairs found, and customer issues along with stop count. The pool technician training roadmap can help define the steps.

3. Test the plan against labor rules

Hourly, salary, and piece-rate plans can have different recordkeeping and overtime needs. The U.S. Department of Labor says covered nonexempt workers must still receive required minimum wage and overtime pay. Get local payroll or legal help before changing a pay plan.

4. Protect route quality

Set a minimum service standard. Keep drive time in the math. Make rework visible. A dense route should create room for better pay and better margins, not shorter visits with no proof of work. Use the cost-per-pool calculator to test the business side.

What this data can and cannot tell you

The BLS file is a solid national benchmark for wage and salary workers in May 2023. It can show broad gaps between industries and job groups. It cannot give a clean national pool-technician median because the published industry row is too broad.

It also leaves out self-employed workers. That is a big limit in an industry with many owner-operators. Owner income mixes labor pay, business profit, equipment, debt, and route value. Do not compare it directly with an employee wage.

The useful lesson is simple. Pool service competes in a real labor market. A good pay plan needs honest local numbers, clear skill steps, route math, and quality controls. These charts give you a starting point, not a final answer.

Frequently asked questions

Does BLS publish a pool technician salary?

No clean pool-only national row appears in the May 2023 industry file. Pool cleaning and maintenance is part of a broader Services to Buildings and Dwellings category. That broad group is useful as context, but it should not be labeled as a pool-technician wage.

What was the median wage in the broad building-services group?

The May 2023 median annual wage for all occupations in Services to Buildings and Dwellings was $37,110. That figure mixes many types of workers and businesses. It is not a recommended starting wage.

Does the BLS wage data include self-employed pool route owners?

No. OEWS wage estimates cover wage and salary workers. They do not include self-employed workers. A route owner's take-home income also includes business profit and costs, so it should be measured in a different way.

Sources and method

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023 national industry-specific OEWS estimates. The supplied ZIP contains the national three-, four-, five-, and six-digit NAICS spreadsheets.
2. BLS, Services to Buildings and Dwellings, NAICS 561700.
3. U.S. Census Bureau, NAICS Sector 56 definitions, which lists swimming pool cleaning and maintenance under 561790.
4. U.S. Department of Labor, Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
5. Pool Magazine, “The $62 Billion Paradox”. Its interactive PoolDial graphics informed the embed format used here.