Plumbing Business Valuation by Revenue Size (2026)

How big you are decides which buyers call you, which number they multiply, and how the offer is put together.

• Under $1M in revenue, you sell for 2 to 4 times what the business pays you.
• Over about $3M in revenue, investor-backed groups start bidding, at 5.5 to 7 times profit.
• A $2M shop and a $10M shop are not the same business at different sizes. They are different deals.

Why Size Changes Everything

A bigger plumbing company has someone else running the schedule, more than one licensed plumber, and habits that survive you walking out.

• Less risk is what a higher number buys. Nothing else about the work changes.
• The same dollar of revenue is worth more inside a business that does not need one specific person.

Under $1M: You Are Still on the Trucks

These sell for 2 to 4 times what the business pays you. Most land at the low end, because the owner is the business.

• Who buys: one person with a bank loan, or a nearby company adding a town.
• How they pay: usually an SBA loan, some cash, and a note you carry.
• What you sign up for: staying on for a real handover, not a two-week goodbye.

One lever matters more than the rest. If the shop can run a full week without you, and someone else holds the license, you move up the range.

$1M to $3M: The In-Between Years

This is where the math changes under you. Small buyers still quote off what you take home. The first professional buyers quote off profit after a manager’s wage.

Expect 4 to 6.5 times, depending on how much of the work repeats and how many licensed plumbers you have.

The buyers here are usually assembling a group of small shops to sell on later. The ones who clear the top of the range have real maintenance revenue and a licensed plumber besides the owner.

$3M to $10M: The Big Buyers Show Up

Investor-backed groups start paying attention at roughly $3M in revenue and $500K in profit. Here you are worth 5.5 to 7 times profit, higher with steady repeat work.

• Several can be looking at once. This is the first size where you get competing offers instead of one.
• Commercial accounts help more than owners expect. A signed contract beats a busy season of service calls.

Over $10M: You Are the Base, Not the Add-On

At this size an investor can build a group around you instead of folding you into someone else’s. That is worth 6 to 11 times profit.

The headline deals show the ceiling. Champions Group, which runs heating, plumbing, and electrical, sold to Blackstone for about $2.5 billion in early 2026.

• You will not get that number. Nobody at your size does.
• It still matters. It is why a group can pay 6 or 7 times for your company and come out ahead.

Try your own numbers in the plumbing valuation calculator.

These bands run ahead of the wider market. The IBBA’s Q1 2026 adviser survey puts the all-industry median at 2.0 times under $500,000 of price, rising to 4.5 times from $5M to $50M.

Plumbing Valuation Calculator

Two companies can have the same profit and sell for very different money. Usually it comes down to the license.

If you are the only master plumber and nobody else on staff is licensed, every buyer prices in losing that license the day you leave.

• The cost is real. It can take a full turn off your number, or end the deal entirely.
• In New Jersey it is worse. The licensed person must own at least 10% of the business.
• The fix costs nothing on paper. Get a second master plumber licensed a year before you sell.

How This Compares to Heating and Cooling

The same buyers chase both trades, so the numbers rhyme. Small heating shops often go a bit higher, because plumbing carries the license problem and heating does not.

• Heating has its own rule. Techs need EPA certification to handle refrigerant, but that belongs to the tech and is replaceable.
• Run both under one roof? You get valued as a home services company, and that breadth is worth money by itself.

Related Guides

• How much of an offer is actually cash, and when the rest arrives.
• New York sellers: what a plumbing business is worth in New York, and the ownership rule that decides who can buy it.
• Texas sellers: what a plumbing business is worth in Texas, where the state takes none of the gain.
• California sellers: what a plumbing business is worth in California, and how the state taxes the gain.
• What moves your multiple up or down, in detail.
• Investor groups versus local buyers, and how long the sale takes.
• How each deal type is taxed.
• Selling in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
• The heating version: HVAC valuation by revenue size.
• What comes off the top: broker commission at each price.

Frequently Asked Questions