Gross margin by trade and revenue band
What your trade earns above direct cost at your size, and the margin the system is built to hold.
Gross margin for commercial subcontractors runs from 18% to 27% of revenue in the $1M–$5M band across 48 published trades. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M. It's set at whatever gross margin produces the net profit target once overhead is paid, and never below your trade's own average.
| Trade | $1M–$5M | $5M–$10M | $10M–$25M | $25M–$50M | $50M–$100M | $100M–$500M | $500M+ | CFOS target $1M–$5M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil and earthwork11 trades | ||||||||
| Civil | 21% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 23% |
| Demolition | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 25% |
| Excavation | 21% | 23% | 24% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 23% |
| Grading | 18% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 25% |
| Paving | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 23% |
| Remediation | 23% | 24% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 25% |
| Sitework | 18% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 24% |
| SWPPP and erosion control | 24% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 34% | 24% |
| Underground utility | 18% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 24% |
| Bridge | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Tunnel | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 25% |
| Concrete and masonry5 trades | ||||||||
| Concrete | 21% | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 23% |
| Concrete flatwork | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 23% |
| Masonry | 21% | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 23% |
| Precast concrete | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 24% |
| Concrete pumping | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 25% |
| Landscape and irrigation1 trades | ||||||||
| Landscaping and irrigation | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 24% |
| Electrical and technology6 trades | ||||||||
| Electrical | 25% | 27% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 33% | 26% |
| Fiber | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Low voltage and AV | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 25% |
| Security systems | 22% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 25% |
| Solar | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Telecom | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 24% |
| Mechanical and life safety7 trades | ||||||||
| HVAC | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 26% |
| Mechanical | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 33% | 26% |
| Plumbing | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 33% | 26% |
| Process piping | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 25% |
| Fire alarm | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 26% |
| Fire protection | 23% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 25% |
| Elevator | 27% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 32% | 33% | 35% | 29% |
| Envelope and structure8 trades | ||||||||
| Curtain wall and glazing | 27% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 31% | 32% | 34% | 28.5% |
| EIFS and stucco | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Framing | 18% | 19% | 20% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 27% | 22% |
| Insulation | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 23% |
| Roofing | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Siding | 21% | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 23% |
| Structural steel | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 24% |
| Waterproofing | 26% | 27% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 32% | 34% | 27% |
| Interiors and finishes6 trades | ||||||||
| Acoustic ceiling | 21% | 22% | 23% | 24% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 22% |
| Drywall | 19% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 22% |
| Flooring | 19% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 23% |
| Interiors | 19% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 22% |
| Painting | 18% | 20% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 22% |
| Tile and stone | 22% | 23% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 28% | 29% | 23% |
| Specialty3 trades | ||||||||
| Marine | 22% | 23% | 25% | 26% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 24% |
| Tank and vessel | 23% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 32% | 24.5% |
| Scaffolding | 26% | 28% | 29% | 31% | 32% | 34% | 36% | 27% |
| No trade matches that. Try a shorter word, or clear the filters. | ||||||||
Target. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M. It's set at whatever gross margin produces the net profit target once overhead is paid, and never below your trade's own average. Every published target sits at or above the trade average.
What your trade carries
All 48 published trades across all 7 revenue bands. Pick your trade and revenue above and the table follows.
- 2024 Construction Financial Benchmarker, Executive Summary, Construction Financial Management Association, 2024. The survey puts gross profit margin at 21.8%, SG&A at 11.8%, and net income before taxes at 6.3% across all respondents. The best-in-class top quartile reaches 11.9% net income before taxes. Those figures are the whole-population reading, so a single trade can sit well either side of them.
- 2025 Performance Benchmarks, Construction Companies, Jones Maresca and Company, 2025. This study reports specialty contractor gross margin between 15% and 25%. It puts net profit at 5% to 8% for a well managed company, and total indirect cost between 8% and 15%. The indirect cost band is the one worth reading twice, because it's the number most owners have never calculated for their own shop.
- SPM Trade Benchmark Reference, Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC, 2026. The reference holds 48 trades, and net profit in it is stated before taxes. It publishes here as 47 trade pages, because landscaping and irrigation share an identical benchmark profile and are one market, so they're presented together. Everything else carries its own row.
How these figures were built. Gross margin and overhead come from CFMA's 2024 and 2025 financial survey data, plus a January 2026 specialty trade study. Net profit comes from a 48 trade master dataset that covers 24 served trades and 24 adjacent trades. The reference holds 48 trades and the site publishes 47 pages, because landscaping and irrigation carry the same figures and are the same market. Where the survey and the master disagree on net profit, the master carries it. Benchmarks are reviewed against each new CFMA survey release and reconciled before publication.
What owners ask about this
What gross margin should a commercial subcontractor run?
It depends on the trade and the revenue band. In the $1M–$5M band, published figures run from 18% to 27% across the 48 trades. The CFOS target is published at $1M to $5M. It's set at whatever gross margin produces the net profit target once overhead is paid, and never below your trade's own average.
How does gross margin change as revenue grows?
Civil moves from 21% at $1M–$5M to 30% at $500M+. The indirect cost base grows in steps while revenue grows continuously, so the ratio moves as the business fills in behind each hire.
Where do these numbers come from?
Gross margin and overhead come from CFMA's 2024 and 2025 financial survey data, plus a January 2026 specialty trade study. Net profit comes from a 48 trade master dataset that covers 24 served trades and 24 adjacent trades. The reference holds 48 trades and the site publishes 47 pages, because landscaping and irrigation carry the same figures and are the same market. Where the survey and the master disagree on net profit, the master carries it. Benchmarks are reviewed against each new CFMA survey release and reconciled before publication. The full reference publishes 1008 data points across 48 trades, 7 revenue bands, and 3 metrics.
Which trades carry the strongest gross margin?
At $1M–$5M, Elevator and Curtain wall and glazing sit at 27%. Trade structure drives most of the spread, and revenue band drives the rest.
How do I turn a percentage into a number I can act on?
Put your last twelve months of revenue into the box above the table. Every percentage on the page then shows the dollars beside it, including the distance between your trade average and the CFOS target.
Josh Luebker ran commercial construction projects before he ran the numbers behind them, on data centres, military bases, hospitals, and high-rises. He wrote CONTROL: The Construction Financial Operating System, which is an eight-step framework for commercial subcontractors, and it publishes on October 1, 2026. He is a master electrician who moved into the office and kept the field vocabulary.
Sulphur Prairie Operations LLC maintains the benchmark reference behind these figures. Every edition is reconciled against the newest CFMA survey release before it publishes here. Where a figure changes between editions, the older edition keeps its year in the title so a citation to it stays correct.