HVAC and plumbing business valuation multiples: what listings actually ask
By Josh Elberg, founder of Palavir · Published
Palavir is a Michigan data and automation consultancy.
Short answer
US HVAC businesses for sale ask 2.73 years of seller-stated profit in the middle, but that is 20 listings, so treat it as a rough guide. Plumbing asks 2.96 (38 listings) and landscaping 3.25 (20). These are asking prices, not what buyers paid. Few trade listings state the owner's hours: 3% in the trades group.
What do trade businesses ask, in years of profit?
A multiple here is the asking price divided by the seller's stated yearly profit. The four trades below are groups of listings by words in the title, so they are approximate: HVAC means "HVAC", "heating" or "air conditioning"; plumbing means "plumb"; landscaping includes "lawn"; cleaning includes "janitorial" and "maid". The n column is the number of US listings with a clear price and profit. Small samples swing: add or remove three listings and the middle can move.
- HVAC (n=20)2.73x
- Plumbing (n=38)2.96x
- Landscaping (n=20)3.25x
- Cleaning (n=14)2.97x
| Word in title | Clean-priced (n) | All listings | Multiple (years of profit) | Middle ask | Middle yearly profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 20 | 38 | 2.73x | $899,500 | $323,030 |
| Plumbing | 38 | 75 | 2.96x | $700,000 | $342,221 |
| Landscaping | 20 | 29 | 3.25x | $850,000 | $257,071 |
| Cleaning | 14 | 59 | 2.97x | $472,500 | $182,253 |
HVAC
- Clean-priced (n)
- 20
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.73x
- Middle ask
- $899,500
- Middle yearly profit
- $323,030
Plumbing
- Clean-priced (n)
- 38
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.96x
- Middle ask
- $700,000
- Middle yearly profit
- $342,221
Landscaping
- Clean-priced (n)
- 20
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 3.25x
- Middle ask
- $850,000
- Middle yearly profit
- $257,071
Cleaning
- Clean-priced (n)
- 14
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.97x
- Middle ask
- $472,500
- Middle yearly profit
- $182,253
Among the four, HVAC is lowest at 2.73x (n=20) and landscaping is highest at 3.25x (n=20). Cleaning has only 14 clean-priced listings, under our 20 cutoff, so its row is shown for completeness and is too few to read as a finding. The spread between trades is narrow next to the noise in samples this size. For the all-industry picture, see small business valuation multiples by industry.
What does the wider trades group show?
Two larger groups give a steadier read. Business types were assigned by an AI model reading each listing, so a few sit in the wrong group.
| Business type | Clean-priced (n) | Multiple (years of profit) | Middle ask | Middle yearly profit | Mention seller financing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trades / field service | 173 | 2.96x | $1,100,000 | $311,424 | 20% |
| Property services | 49 | 2.80x | $529,999 | $174,000 | 13% |
| All US listings | 1,809 | 2.87x | $489,000 | $166,680 | 16% |
Trades / field service
- Clean-priced (n)
- 173
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.96x
- Middle ask
- $1,100,000
- Middle yearly profit
- $311,424
Property services
- Clean-priced (n)
- 49
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.80x
- Middle ask
- $529,999
- Middle yearly profit
- $174,000
All US listings
- Clean-priced (n)
- 1,809
- Multiple (years of profit)
- 2.87x
- Middle ask
- $489,000
- Middle yearly profit
- $166,680
Trades and field service asks $1,100,000 for $311,000 of yearly profit, a middle of 2.96x. The middle US listing asks $489,000, so trades listings are larger than average. Property services ask less and land at 2.80x.
What do the listings leave out?
The price is the easy part. The listing text rarely tells you how much work the owner does. Only 3% of trades listings state the owner's weekly hours, against 9% of all US listings. Our model scored 39% of trades listings as highly dependent on the owner, against 37% overall. In many trades, the owner is the estimator, the lead tech or the one who holds the license, and a buyer has to replace that person.
| Group | Listings | State owner hours | Rated high on owner dependence |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 38 | 5% (middle 15 a week) | 47% |
| Plumbing | 75 | 8% (middle 20 a week) | 48% |
| Landscaping | 29 | 0% | 48% |
| Cleaning | 59 | 3% (middle 6 a week) | 15% |
| Trades / field service | 412 | 3% (middle 20 a week) | 39% |
| Property services | 136 | 4% (middle 20 a week) | 35% |
| All US listings | 3,928 | 9% (middle 10 a week) | 37% |
HVAC
- Listings
- 38
- State owner hours
- 5% (middle 15 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 47%
Plumbing
- Listings
- 75
- State owner hours
- 8% (middle 20 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 48%
Landscaping
- Listings
- 29
- State owner hours
- 0%
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 48%
Cleaning
- Listings
- 59
- State owner hours
- 3% (middle 6 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 15%
Trades / field service
- Listings
- 412
- State owner hours
- 3% (middle 20 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 39%
Property services
- Listings
- 136
- State owner hours
- 4% (middle 20 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 35%
All US listings
- Listings
- 3,928
- State owner hours
- 9% (middle 10 a week)
- Rated high on owner dependence
- 37%
When hours are not stated, ask. How many hours does the owner work? Who bids the jobs? Whose name is on the license? Can a crew lead handle customers alone? A listing that says nothing has not told you the answer, good or bad.
What is left after a loan payment?
On our assumed loan (90% of the price, 10 years, 10% a year), the middle HVAC listing leaves about $146,286 a year before tax and before paying anyone to run it, and 90% of HVAC listings state profit of at least 1.25 times the payments. Plumbing leaves $153,003 (92% cover) and landscaping $89,584 (95% cover). This is our rough test, not a lender's. Our loan math borrows 90% of the asking price. An SBA lender counts your 10% on the whole project, so with 15% for stock, closing and working cash the cash needed is about $103,442. The SBA down payment and coverage test article explains what lenders look at.
| Word in title | Clean-priced (n) | Left after loan, per year | Cover 1.25x |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 20 | $146,286 | 90% |
| Plumbing | 38 | $153,003 | 92% |
| Landscaping | 20 | $89,584 | 95% |
| Cleaning | 14 | $114,876 | 93% |
HVAC
- Clean-priced (n)
- 20
- Left after loan, per year
- $146,286
- Cover 1.25x
- 90%
Plumbing
- Clean-priced (n)
- 38
- Left after loan, per year
- $153,003
- Cover 1.25x
- 92%
Landscaping
- Clean-priced (n)
- 20
- Left after loan, per year
- $89,584
- Cover 1.25x
- 95%
Cleaning
- Clean-priced (n)
- 14
- Left after loan, per year
- $114,876
- Cover 1.25x
- 93%
How much do owners of these businesses make?
The middle HVAC listing states $323,030 of yearly profit and plumbing $342,221. This is the seller's figure and often includes the owner's own pay, so it is closer to what an owner-operator takes home than to a profit after hiring a manager. Our article on what business owners make shows how that changes once someone else runs the day-to-day.
What this data cannot tell you
- These are asking prices, not the prices businesses sold for.
- Profit is the seller's own figure. It often includes the owner's pay, so someone still has to do that work.
- It is a snapshot of listings from October 2026, not a survey of all businesses.
- HVAC has 20 clean-priced listings, landscaping 20, plumbing 38 and cleaning 14. Samples this small swing, and a gap of a few tenths of a year between trades is not a finding.
- The trade groups match words in the listing title only (HVAC: "HVAC", "heating" or "air conditioning"; landscaping: "landscap" or "lawn"; cleaning: "cleaning", "janitorial" or "maid"), so a listing that describes the work under a different title is missed, and groups can overlap.
- Owner dependence and business type come from an AI model reading each listing and can be wrong at the edges. Hours are only what the seller chose to write.
- We have no closing prices. Whether a listing closes at, above or below its ask is not in this data.
Have a listing? We check it free.
Questions people ask
What is a typical HVAC business valuation multiple?
In our October 2026 scan, the middle US HVAC listing asks 2.73 years of seller-stated yearly profit. That rests on 20 listings with a clear price and profit, out of 38 HVAC listings. With a sample this small, a few listings can move the middle. These are asking prices, not closing prices.
How does an HVAC business multiple compare with plumbing?
We only see asking prices, so we cannot say what any business closed for. Asking, the middle HVAC listing is 2.73 years of profit (20 listings) and plumbing is 2.96 (38 listings). The gap is small next to the swing a small sample can produce, so do not read it as one trade being worth more.
How much do HVAC business owners make?
The middle HVAC listing states yearly profit of $323,030 on an ask of $899,500 (20 listings). That profit is the seller's figure and often includes the owner's own pay, so it is not a salary. Only 5% of HVAC listings state the owner's hours, and 47% were scored by our model as highly dependent on the owner.
How do I buy an HVAC business?
Start by asking what the owner does each week, because only 5% of HVAC listings say. Then test the profit against the loan: on our rough test (a loan of 90% of the price over 10 years at 10%), 90% of HVAC listings state profit of at least 1.25 times the payments. That is our test, not a lender's. A lender or SBA attorney can confirm what applies to your deal.
Are plumbing and landscaping businesses priced like HVAC?
Close in the middle. Plumbing asks 2.96 years of profit and landscaping 3.25, against 2.73 for HVAC. Landscaping keeps a thinner margin in these listings (22% against 34% for HVAC). Each rests on 20 to 38 clean-priced listings.
Are these samples big enough to rely on?
Not on their own. HVAC has 20 clean-priced listings, landscaping 20, and cleaning only 14, which is under our 20 cutoff for reading a result. The wider trades group has 173, with a middle of 2.96 years of profit, and is the steadier guide. Use all of these to spot an ask far from its peers, not to value a business.
Sources and method
Palavir Deal Scout: businesses-for-sale listings collected in October 2026 from nine marketplaces and brokers. 3,928 US listings, cut by title word and by business type on October 28, 2026. 1,809 have a clear price and profit; repeats, ranges, sold listings and near-identical template listings from broker networks are removed from priced groups. Prices are asking prices and profit is the seller-stated figure. Seller financing is the share of all listings in a group, priced or not, whose text mentions it.
General information, not financial, legal or lending advice.