Restoration Industry Statistics 2026
How many water, fire, mold and abatement openings are live right now, where they are, and what federal and industry data say about the people who put damaged buildings back together.
BLS has no occupation for restoration or water mitigation technicians, so every federal figure below names the BLS occupation it describes and labels each stand-in.
Live Restoration Openings
These numbers are RestorationHires’s own: every active listing on the board, from employer career sites and direct postings.
Every other figure on this page comes from a federal agency, a certification body or the named company.
| Role | Listings with hourly pay | Median posted low | Median posted high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restoration Technicians | 935 | $18.00/hr | $22.00/hr |
| Restoration Crew Leads | 452 | $21.00/hr | $26.00/hr |
| Restoration Coordinators | 216 | $18.00/hr | $22.00/hr |
| Water Mitigation Technicians | 175 | $18.00/hr | $24.00/hr |
| Reconstruction Technicians | 145 | $23.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
| Contents Technicians | 110 | $17.50/hr | $20.00/hr |
| Restoration Project Managers | 88 | $24.00/hr | $28.50/hr |
| Restoration Business Development Reps | 56 | $20.00/hr | $27.50/hr |
| Carpet Cleaning Technicians | 53 | $18.00/hr | $22.00/hr |
| Mold Remediation Technicians | 30 | $20.00/hr | $25.00/hr |
| Fire Restoration Technicians | 27 | $18.00/hr | $21.00/hr |
| Duct Cleaning Technicians | 17 | $18.00/hr | $22.00/hr |
| Contents Managers | 17 | $18.00/hr | $25.00/hr |
| Restoration Estimators | 16 | $25.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Roles with at least 15 hourly-pay listings are shown; each column is the median of the posted range’s low or high end.
Posted ranges are what employers advertise, which may leave out overtime, on-call pay and bonuses, not what workers earn, so they do not compare directly with the BLS wages below.
How to read these numbers.
This is a live sample of the openings RestorationHires tracks, not a count of every restoration job in the country.
Roles follow our job categories, not BLS occupations, and listings we cannot place in a state count only in the total.
If you cite them, include the date shown and link to this page.
How Big Is the Restoration Workforce?
No federal survey counts restoration workers as such, because BLS has no occupation for restoration or water mitigation technicians.
The table shows the BLS occupations closest to restoration roles, each labelled with how well it fits.
Payroll counts leave out self-employed workers, while projection counts include them, and the two come from separate BLS programs.
| BLS occupation | Payroll jobs, May 2025 | Employment 2025 | Projected 2035 | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials Removal Workers SOC 47-4041The broader occupation that includes asbestos and lead abatement workers, and the closest one for mold remediation. It also counts hazmat cleanup and nuclear decontamination workers, and it is not a restoration technician figure. | 51,710 | 52,700 | 53,500 | Asbestos abatement openings |
| Construction Managers SOC 11-9021A proxy for restoration project and production managers. It covers construction managers on every kind of project, including large commercial builds. | 380,360 | 609,100 | 664,300 | Project manager openings |
| Cost Estimators SOC 13-1051A proxy for restoration estimators. It covers cost estimators in every industry, manufacturing included. | 224,220 | 226,400 | 219,500 | Estimator openings |
| Other proxies and comparison occupations | ||||
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers SOC 47-1011A proxy for restoration crew leads and abatement supervisors. It covers foremen in every construction trade. | 812,210 | 913,300 | 959,400 | Crew lead openings |
| Carpenters SOC 47-2031A proxy for reconstruction technicians. Drywall installers and painters are separate BLS occupations. | 670,090 | 889,700 | 924,700 | Reconstruction openings |
| Building Cleaning Workers, All Other SOC 37-2019A weak proxy for carpet cleaning technicians. It is a residual “all other” code that BLS defines only as building cleaners not listed separately. | 17,210 | 18,600 | 19,000 | Carpet cleaning openings |
| Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators SOC 13-1031Shown for comparison only: insurance-side claims adjusters are a separate BLS occupation from restoration estimators. | 324,230 | 376,100 | 355,500 | Comparison only |
Payroll jobs are BLS OEWS wage-and-salary estimates for all industries. Employment 2025 and 2035 are BLS Employment Projections figures, which also count the self-employed, so the 2025 projections base sits above the payroll count (37.6% of construction managers were self-employed in 2025). Every row describes the whole BLS occupation, not the restoration role.
Share of all hazardous materials removal workers, self-employed included (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Largest industries only. This is a different count from the payroll figures in the table above.
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 47-4041 (the group that includes asbestos, lead and mold abatement workers). Payroll employees only.
Roles BLS does not count on their own
- Restoration technicians. BLS has no restoration technician occupation, and the nearest codes count other work, so no restoration technician wage or count exists in federal data and none is shown here. Source
- Water mitigation technicians. BLS has no water mitigation or drying technician occupation, and hazardous materials removal workers fit the role only partly, so no figure is shown for them here. Source
- Fire restoration, contents, biohazard and duct cleaning technicians. We found no BLS occupation that fits these roles closely enough to stand in for them, so no figure is shown for them here.
- Restoration coordinators, business development reps and operations managers. BLS has no restoration-specific occupation for office and management roles, and the all-industry office, sales and manager codes are too broad to stand in for them, so no figure is shown here. Source
- Restoration companies as an industry. BLS publishes no remediation services industry line in its May 2025 wage data; the finest cut, remediation and other waste management services, also includes materials recovery and septic and other waste services. Source
Where BLS has no occupation for a role, we name the closest group and label it, or show no figure at all.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: hazardous materials removal workers, O*NET OnLine: 47-4041
BLS Pay and Growth Benchmarks
BLS projects employment growth from 2025 to 2035 of 1.5% for hazardous materials removal workers, with about 4,300 openings a year, against 9.1% for construction managers and a 3.1% decline for cost estimators.
Total U.S. employment is projected to grow 3.5% over the same decade.
Pay also differs by industry, so the industry rows below are the closer guide for remediation, residential and specialty trade work.
| BLS occupation | Median wage, May 2025 | 10th to 90th percentile | Growth 2025–35 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials Removal Workers SOC 47-4041 | $49,450$23.78/hr | $38,460 to $82,410 | +1.5% | 4,300 |
| Construction Managers SOC 11-9021 | $114,990$55.28/hr | $69,690 to $189,440 | +9.1% | 49,700 |
| Cost Estimators SOC 13-1051 | $78,740$37.86/hr | $48,530 to $130,820 | -3.1% | 17,600 |
| Other proxies and comparison occupations | ||||
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers SOC 47-1011 | $79,920$38.42/hr | $53,280 to $128,260 | +5.0% | 67,000 |
| Carpenters SOC 47-2031 | $60,580$29.12/hr | $40,410 to $99,910 | +3.9% | 62,800 |
| Building Cleaning Workers, All Other SOC 37-2019 | $44,040$21.17/hr | $32,370 to $64,030 | +2.0% | 2,500 |
| Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators SOC 13-1031 | $78,000$37.50/hr | $48,850 to $117,040 | -5.5% | 20,900 |
Wages are BLS OEWS national estimates for wage-and-salary workers in all industries, so they leave out the self-employed. Growth and openings are BLS Employment Projections, which include the self-employed; openings include replacements for workers who leave the occupation. No row is a restoration technician wage.
| Industry | Payroll jobs | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials Removal Workers (SOC 47-4041) | ||
| Remediation and other waste management services | 32,210 | $23.51/hr |
| Construction (whole sector) | 2,810 | $23.85/hr |
| Administrative and support services | 2,370 | $22.95/hr |
| Other specialty trade contractors | 340 | $31.12/hr |
| Construction Managers (SOC 11-9021, proxy) | ||
| Residential building construction | 56,450 | $98,390/yr |
| Other specialty trade contractors | 21,060 | $103,680/yr |
| Building finishing contractors | 13,990 | $97,880/yr |
| Remediation and other waste management services | 1,530 | $105,980/yr |
| Cost Estimators (SOC 13-1051, proxy) | ||
| Construction (whole sector) | 122,940 | $82,730/yr |
| Specialty trade contractors | 75,560 | $80,330/yr |
| Residential building construction | 13,670 | $74,990/yr |
| Remediation and other waste management services | 2,060 | $75,000/yr |
BLS OEWS national industry estimates, payroll employees only. BLS publishes no separate remediation services line: remediation and other waste management services also includes materials recovery and septic and other waste services, so these are not restoration company figures. Only the largest or most relevant industries are shown.
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 47-4041, hourly median. The lowest state medians were Arkansas ($17.61) and Louisiana ($18.27).
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 13-1051 (all industries, a proxy for restoration estimators), annual median. The lowest state median was Arkansas ($61,470).
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates, BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
Certification, Standards and Employer Scale
The IICRC certifies restoration technicians and firms and publishes the ANSI standards for water, mold, fire and smoke, and trauma cleanup work.
The largest restoration networks publish their own size figures, quoted here as each company states them.
These figures come from each named source, not from RestorationHires listings.
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Active IICRC Certified Technicians, worldwideAs stated by the IICRC, a non-profit certification body founded in 1972; a global count, not a U.S. one | 49,000+ | IICRC, About the IICRC |
| IICRC Certified Firms, worldwideAs stated by the IICRC | 6,500+ | IICRC, About the IICRC |
| Credentials on the IICRC certification listGrouped into cleaning, inspection and restoration divisions, including WRT, ASD, AMRT, FSRT and the Mold Remediation Specialist (MRS) | 28 | IICRC, Certifications Offered |
| ANSI/IICRC S500, water damage restorationThe current edition; IICRC says a consensus body has begun revising it | 5th ed., 2021 | IICRC, S500 |
| ANSI/IICRC S520, mold remediationThe current edition, which replaced the 2015 third edition | 4th ed., 2024 | IICRC, S520 |
| ANSI/IICRC S700, fire and smoke damage restorationThe first IICRC standard for fire and smoke work | 1st ed., 2025 | IICRC, S700 |
| ANSI/IICRC S540, trauma and crime scene cleanupThe first edition was published in 2017 | 2nd ed., 2023 | IICRC, S540 |
| SERVPRO franchises, U.S. and CanadaAs stated on SERVPRO's careers page; its About page says more than 2,000 locations | 2,400+ | SERVPRO careers page |
| BELFOR employeesAs stated by BELFOR, across 34 countries | 14,000+ | BELFOR, About Us |
| First Onsite team membersAs stated by First Onsite, a FirstService Corporation subsidiary with 110+ locations | 2,600+ | First Onsite, About Us |
| ATI Restoration officesAs stated by ATI, after ten acquisitions in 2023 and 2024 | 70+ | ATI Restoration, About Us |
IICRC counts are worldwide and are not comparable with any BLS occupation above. Company figures are self-reported on the page shown, as of October 2026, and are not audited.
Sources: IICRC, IICRC certifications, SERVPRO, BELFOR, First Onsite, ATI Restoration
Statistics by Role
Each role page combines live listing figures with the BLS data for that role.
A role page is published once the board tracks at least 300 of its listings from 25 employers.
- Restoration Technician statistics1,389 live listings from 90 employers
- Restoration Project Manager statistics675 live listings from 41 employers
Frequently Asked Questions
How many restoration openings are live right now?
RestorationHires listed 5,043 live restoration, mitigation, abatement and restoration office openings from 152 employers on November 5, 2026. The count covers every active listing on the board and is refreshed every six hours.
How many restoration workers are there in the U.S.?
No federal count exists, because BLS has no restoration technician occupation. The closest group, hazardous materials removal workers, which includes asbestos, lead and mold abatement workers, had 51,710 payroll jobs in May 2025 (BLS OEWS) and 52,700 jobs in 2025 counting the self-employed (BLS Employment Projections). The IICRC says it has more than 49,000 active Certified Technicians and more than 6,500 Certified Firms, but that is a worldwide count.
What does BLS say restoration technicians earn?
BLS publishes no restoration technician wage. The $23.78 an hour ($49,450 a year) May 2025 median that is sometimes quoted is for hazardous materials removal workers (SOC 47-4041), a stand-in for mold and asbestos work only, not a restoration technician figure (BLS OEWS).
Is the restoration workforce growing?
BLS projects no restoration occupation directly. Among the closest occupations, it projects growth from 2025 to 2035 of 1.5% for hazardous materials removal workers (about 4,300 openings a year), 9.1% for construction managers (about 49,700 openings a year) and a 3.1% decline for cost estimators (about 17,600 openings a year), against 3.5% for total U.S. employment (BLS Employment Projections 2025-35).
What do restoration project managers and estimators earn, according to BLS?
BLS has no occupation for either role. Construction managers, the proxy for project managers, earned a median of $114,990 a year in May 2025, and $98,390 in residential building construction. Cost estimators, the proxy for restoration estimators, earned a median of $78,740, and $82,730 in the construction sector (BLS OEWS).
Which states pay hazardous materials removal workers the most?
New York had the highest state median for hazardous materials removal workers in May 2025, $35.14 an hour ($73,090 a year) across 4,090 payroll jobs, against a U.S. median of $23.78 an hour. Arkansas had the lowest among the 50 states and DC, $36,630 a year, and California had the most jobs, 7,340 (BLS OEWS state estimates).
Which IICRC standards are current?
As of October 2026 the IICRC lists ANSI/IICRC S500 for water damage restoration in its Fifth Edition (2021), S520 for mold remediation in its Fourth Edition (2024), S700 for fire and smoke damage restoration in its First Edition (2025) and S540 for trauma and crime scene cleanup in its Second Edition (2023).
Methodology and Sources
Live figures count every active, paid listing on RestorationHires when the page was generated, and the page refreshes every six hours.
Federal figures are quoted as BLS published them: OEWS May 2025 for payroll employment and wages, and Employment Projections 2025–35 for growth and openings.
No restoration role has an exact BLS occupation, and restoration and water mitigation technicians have none at all, so no BLS wage is shown for them.
Hazardous materials removal workers are the broader occupation for asbestos and lead abatement and the closest one for mold remediation, and we say so wherever the figure appears.
Construction managers and cost estimators stand in for restoration project managers and estimators only as labelled proxies.
IICRC and company figures are quoted from the named source with the date we read them, and they are never mixed with BLS occupation counts.
State rankings are our sorting of the published BLS state rows.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national fileWage-and-salary employment and annual and hourly wage percentiles for each occupation, all industries.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, industry fileEmployment and median wages for hazmat removal workers, construction managers and cost estimators by industry.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state fileEmployment and median wages by state.
- BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, Table 1.22025 and 2035 employment (including the self-employed), percent change and average annual openings.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersWhat hazmat removal workers do and where they work.
- O*NET OnLine: 47-4041.00 Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersReported job titles, including mold damage technician and asbestos abatement worker.
- IICRC: About the IICRCCounts of IICRC Certified Technicians and Certified Firms.
- IICRC: Certifications OfferedThe current list of IICRC credentials.
- IICRC: ANSI/IICRC S500Current edition of the water damage restoration standard.
- IICRC: ANSI/IICRC S520Current edition of the mold remediation standard.
- IICRC: ANSI/IICRC S700Current edition of the fire and smoke damage restoration standard.
- IICRC: ANSI/IICRC S540Current edition of the trauma and crime scene cleanup standard.
- SERVPRO careers pageSERVPRO's stated franchise count.
- BELFOR, About UsBELFOR's stated headcount and country count.
- First Onsite, About UsFirst Onsite's stated team size and location count.
- ATI Restoration, About UsATI's stated office count.
- RestorationHires job listingsActive, paid listings on the board, queried live.