Services indexed
13
Hourly range, avg
$45–$75/hr
Columbus median
$60/hr
Most affordable: Drywall · Premium: General Contractor
Columbus indexes 13 services across 4 categories, with hourly rates spanning $33/hr (Drywall) to $131/hr (General Contractor). The city median of $60/hr runs 30% below the national average across all indexed cities. Construction is the largest service block here (7 of 13 services).
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 wage data adjusted for Columbus cost of living. Read the methodology.
Columbus electrician rates $51-$85/hr (avg $68). Neighborhood breakdown, BZS permit costs, knob-and-tube rewires, EV charger installs.
Read articleColumbus locksmith rates $36-$60/hr (avg $48). Lockout $75-$175, rekey $25-$60/lock, smart lock install $200-$400. Scam-call warnings included.
Read articleColumbus pest control runs $35-$58/hr or $35-$70/quarterly visit. Bedbug heat $1K-$2K, termite WDI $75-$150, Ohio Dept of Agriculture licensing.
Read articleColumbus concrete rates $46-$76/hr (avg $61), $8-$14/sf standard. Neighborhood breakdown, BZS permits, freeze/thaw 25-30 yr replacement cycle.
Read articleColumbus deck builder rates $38-$64/hr (avg $51). Neighborhood pricing, 32-inch frost-line footings, BZS permits, and pressure-treated vs composite.
Read articleColumbus drywall rates run $33-$55/hr (avg $44). Hung+finished $2-$3/sf new, $4-$8/sf plaster repair, basement finish $10K-$30K complete.
Read articleColumbus foundation repair runs $51-$85/hr or $1,200-$3,200/pier. Neighborhood breakdown, Columbus BZS permits, clay till + freeze-thaw impact.
Read articleColumbus GC rates $79-$131/hr blended (avg $105), or 15-22% markup. Bexley vs Hilltop pricing, city contractor registration, Intel boom impact.
Read articleColumbus insulation rates $45-$75/hr (avg $60). Neighborhood breakdown, Zone 5 R-49 attic rules, AEP Ohio rebates, balloon-frame retrofit pricing.
Read articleColumbus window installer rates $42-$70/hr (avg $56). Vinyl vs wood-clad pricing, BZS permits, German Village historic rules, AEP rebates.
Read articleColumbus septic rates $45-$74/hr (avg $59). OH STS permits, Franklin/Delaware/Pickaway county rules, clay-till soil and freeze-thaw pricing.
Read articleColumbus tree service runs $38-$63/hr (avg $50). Neighborhood breakdown, EAB ash removal, city permits, and what storm-damage emergencies cost.
Read articleAcross the 13 home and professional services we index in Columbus, the median consumer rate is $60/hr. Hourly rates span $45/hr at the affordable end to $75/hr at the premium end, depending on service type and contractor.
General Contractor carries the highest typical rate in Columbus at $78.59–$130.98/hr. Premium professional and licensed services consistently command the highest rates across our index.
Drywall sits at the lower end of the Columbus index at $33.15–$55.25/hr. Routine maintenance and cleaning categories typically cluster at the bottom of any city's price spread.
Columbus is 30% below the national average of $86/hr across our 49-city corpus. Local wage data and cost of living drive most of this difference — see the geographic precision note for the underlying data.
Construction has the most indexed services in Columbus (7 guides), reflecting both local demand and the breadth of BLS wage data available for that segment.
Consumer-facing rates. We apply industry-standard 1.5–2.5× multipliers to BLS hourly wages to account for business overhead, insurance, licensing, employer costs, and profit margin. The full calculation is documented in the methodology.
Pricing reflects the BLS OEWS May 2024 release. The next refresh lands when May 2025 data is published in April 2026. Cadence is documented in the update schedule.
Data: BLS OEWS May 2024 · Methodology · Last refreshed January 2026