Ohio vs Pennsylvania: contractor markets, side by side
Ohio has 12,409 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Pennsylvania has 8,539 — about 1.5× more licensed contractors. Counts come from the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) and the Philadelphia L&I + Pittsburgh Permits; market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| Ohio | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 12,409 | 8,539 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 10.5 | 6.1 |
| Residents | 11,774,683 | 13,983,292 |
| Households | 5,251,186 | 6,205,690 |
| Median household income | $71,229 | $78,687 |
| Building permits (2025) | 33,640 | 25,709 |
| Top city by licenses | Cincinnati | — |
Ohio is the denser market: 10.5 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 Pennsylvania — $78,687 median against $71,229 in Ohio — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | Ohio | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 4,449 | 1,707 |
| Plumbers | 3,061 | 663 |
| HVAC Contractors | 4,899 | 238 |
| General Contractors | — | 5,654 |
| Fire-Protection Contractors | — | 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.