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Best cities to start an elevator installer business

Solo revenue, competition and local demand across 52 metros

Where a solo elevator installer business has the most room Our calculation

Columbia, SC ranks first. One-person building equipment installation businesses there average $103,096 a year in revenue, with 0.8 building equipment installation businesses for every 10,000 residents (typical metro: 1.0). We scored all 52 metros where the Census publishes building equipment installation business counts.

  1. 1
    ColumbiaSOUTH CAROLINA · SC · $103,096 avg solo revenue · 0.8 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    82
  2. 2
    PensacolaFLORIDA · FL · $141,812 avg solo revenue · 1.0 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    78
  3. 3
    NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN · $110,457 avg solo revenue · 1.1 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    74
  4. 4
    FresnoCALIFORNIA · CA · $105,564 avg solo revenue · 0.7 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    74
  5. 5
    SeattleWASHINGTON · WA · $103,812 avg solo revenue · 0.6 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    74
  6. 6
    OmahaNEBRASKA · NE · $140,687 avg solo revenue · 1.1 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    74
  7. 7
    MinneapolisMINNESOTA · MN · $103,468 avg solo revenue · 0.7 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    71
  8. 8
    Myrtle BeachSOUTH CAROLINA · SC · $88,655 avg solo revenue · 1.0 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    71
  9. 9
    San JoseCALIFORNIA · CA · $130,734 avg solo revenue · 0.5 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    71
  10. 10
    North PortFLORIDA · FL · $97,907 avg solo revenue · 1.2 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    67
  11. 11
    PortlandOREGON · OR · $101,811 avg solo revenue · 0.6 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    67
  12. 12
    WashingtonWASHINGTON, DC · DC · $96,773 avg solo revenue · 0.6 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fewer competitors per resident
    67
  13. 13
    MilwaukeeWISCONSIN · WI · $103,959 avg solo revenue · 0.8 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue
    64
  14. 14
    DavenportIOWA · IA · $111,733 avg solo revenue · 0.8 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    63
  15. 15
    San DiegoCALIFORNIA · CA · $100,302 avg solo revenue · 0.7 building equipment installation businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fewer competitors per resident
    62

Weights: average solo revenue 3, fewer competitors per resident 3, revenue compared with the local employee wage 2, new home permits 2, population growth 1. Each factor is a percentile among these metros.

Top 5 by each factor Government data

Highest solo revenue

  1. Pensacola, FL: $141,812
  2. Omaha, NE: $140,687
  3. San Jose, CA: $130,734
  4. Davenport, IA: $111,733
  5. Nashville, TN: $110,457

Least competition

  1. San Jose, CA: 0.5 per 10k residents
  2. Albuquerque, NM: 0.5 per 10k residents
  3. Seattle, WA: 0.6 per 10k residents
  4. Portland, OR: 0.6 per 10k residents
  5. Washington, DC: 0.6 per 10k residents

Most new building

  1. North Port, FL: 19.8 home permits per 1k
  2. Myrtle Beach, SC: 17.0 home permits per 1k
  3. Austin, TX: 11.3 home permits per 1k
  4. Orlando, FL: 10.0 home permits per 1k
  5. Nashville, TN: 9.2 home permits per 1k

Fastest-growing population

  1. Myrtle Beach, SC: +20.9%
  2. Austin, TX: +13.9%
  3. North Port, FL: +13.2%
  4. Dallas, TX: +10.6%
  5. Orlando, FL: +10.3%

Every metro Government data

Click a column to sort. “Rate to match it” is the hourly rate you'd need to bill to replace the local employee median, at our default assumptions (25% for tax and benefits, $30,000 overhead, 1,400 billable hours). Try your own numbers in the rate calculator.

#MetroScoreSolo revenueBusinesses / 10k peopleEmployee medianRate to match itPermits / 1k
1Columbia, SC82$103,0960.8$80,830$94/hr7.1
2Pensacola, FL78$141,8121.0$103,630$114/hr6.3
3Nashville, TN74$110,4571.1$105,290$115/hr9.2
4Fresno, CA74$105,5640.7$126,110$134/hr3.0
5Seattle, WA74$103,8120.6$138,880$145/hr3.9
6Omaha, NE74$140,6871.1$117,690$127/hr6.5
7Minneapolis, MN71$103,4680.7$128,020$136/hr3.9
8Myrtle Beach, SC71$88,6551.0$93,360$105/hr17.0
9San Jose, CA71$130,7340.5$173,920$177/hr2.8
10North Port, FL67$97,9071.2$104,130$114/hr19.8
11Portland, OR67$101,8110.6$138,600$145/hr3.3
12Washington, DC67$96,7730.6$122,260$131/hr2.8
13Milwaukee, WI64$103,9590.8$78,110$91/hr2.0
14Davenport, IA63$111,7330.8$115,980$125/hr1.6
15San Diego, CA62$100,3020.7$140,250$147/hr3.6
16Birmingham, AL62$102,9891.0$103,700$114/hr3.6
17Salt Lake City, UT61$93,9901.1$82,750$95/hr6.0
18Denver, CO60$101,4291.1$123,360$132/hr5.3
19Dallas, TX58$86,5481.2$108,150$118/hr8.3
20Baltimore, MD57$95,8880.7$122,690$131/hr2.0
21Indianapolis, IN57$85,9781.0$116,520$125/hr5.4
22Richmond, VA57$73,9690.8$108,250$118/hr6.8
23Albany, NY54$85,0280.7$121,470$130/hr2.3
24Albuquerque, NM54$62,4410.5$71,430$85/hr3.1
25Oklahoma City, OK54$83,0511.3$61,680$76/hr5.9
26Grand Rapids, MI52$91,9851.0$133,080$140/hr3.7
27Austin, TX51$67,1991.0$107,630$118/hr11.3
28Tulsa, OK50$81,8411.1$107,440$117/hr5.0
29Las Vegas, NV49$73,1680.8$141,920$148/hr6.2
30Atlanta, GA49$78,9111.3$83,500$96/hr5.4
31Orlando, FL48$79,0241.5$104,860$115/hr10.0
32San Francisco, CA46$95,3630.7$168,270$172/hr1.7
33Detroit, MI45$87,7301.0$106,610$117/hr2.0
34Miami, FL43$86,5642.1$108,170$118/hr3.8
35Kansas City, MO43$72,1590.9$124,120$132/hr4.5
36Tampa, FL43$71,3251.2$105,990$116/hr6.9
37Spokane, WA42$57,7500.7$138,100$145/hr5.3
38New York, NY42$88,0891.0$136,000$143/hr2.2
39Los Angeles, CA42$86,0170.8$140,600$147/hr2.1
40Philadelphia, PA41$78,7880.8$132,640$140/hr2.1
41Pittsburgh, PA39$81,1860.9$121,920$130/hr2.4
42Houston, TX36$63,9201.4$104,350$115/hr8.7
43Springfield, MO36$76,8161.1$132,130$139/hr3.6
44San Antonio, TX33$64,3901.2$103,700$114/hr4.0
45Chicago, IL31$78,7600.9$146,580$152/hr1.7
46Syracuse, NY27$59,9170.9$126,630$134/hr3.1
47El Paso, TX26$68,2021.4$89,140$101/hr2.3
48Appleton, WI26$25,2731.1$75,250$89/hr5.1
49Lansing, MI26$55,9060.9$100,570$111/hr1.8
50Jackson, MS22$71,1191.3$105,410$116/hr2.6
51Roanoke, VA19$63,8801.2$125,680$134/hr2.8
52Beaumont, TX11$42,2251.4$100,350$111/hr2.4

How to read this

Revenue is what one-person businesses take in before expenses, not take-home pay. A high figure with lots of competitors per resident usually means a busy but crowded market; a lower figure with few competitors can mean room to grow. Business counts come from the Census Nonemployer Statistics (2024) and County Business Patterns (2023), grouped as “building equipment installation”, so they include some firms outside the trade itself.

For pay as an employee in any of these cities, see the elevator installer salary overview or the best cities for elevator installers to work.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024; County Business Patterns 2023; Census Building Permits 2025; Census population estimates; BLS OEWS May 2025. Our data

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