New York vs Pennsylvania: contractor markets, side by side
New York has 28,981 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Pennsylvania has 8,539 — about 3× more licensed contractors. Counts come from the NYC Department of Buildings + DCWP and the Philadelphia L&I + Pittsburgh Permits; market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| New York | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 28,981 | 8,539 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 14.5 | 6.1 |
| Residents | 19,994,326 | 13,983,292 |
| Households | 8,494,175 | 6,205,690 |
| Median household income | $89,542 | $78,687 |
| Building permits (2025) | 38,667 | 25,709 |
| Top city by licenses | Brooklyn | — |
New York is the denser market: 14.5 active licenses per 10k residents against 6.1 in Pennsylvania. Density cuts both ways — more contractors to sell to per square mile, and more competition per job for the contractors themselves.
Household income runs higher in New York — $89,542 median against $78,687 in Pennsylvania — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | New York | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 3,510 | 1,707 |
| Plumbers | 1,148 | 663 |
| HVAC Contractors | 103 | 238 |
| General Contractors | 23,751 | 5,654 |
| Fire-Protection Contractors | 469 | 114 |
| Excavating Contractors | — | 163 |
Counts are active licenses only, from each state's license board. A “—” means that board doesn't issue a statewide license for the trade, not that the trade doesn't exist there.