Plumber cost in Southern California

We did not find a published hourly rate made just for Orange County. Homeyou has pages for single cities. It says a usual job costs $120 to $876 in the city of Orange and $109 to $792 in Irvine.

Homeyou prints the same hourly line on its city pages, so it is not a separate check on each city. For hourly rates, the California figures below are the closest we found.

Mike Diamond Services, a plumbing company, says the rate per hour in California is between $75 and $200. For emergency work it says $150 to $250 an hour.

For the whole country, Fixr says $75 to $150 an hour, with a national average of $90. HomeAdvisor says $45 to $200 an hour. These two are national figures, not California ones.

Core Plumbing SD says a service call in San Diego costs $75 to $200, and is sometimes waived if you go ahead with the repair. It gives $150 to $300 for drain cleaning and $120 to $260 for a faucet repair.

Fixr says a national service call fee can run from $50 to $300. Ask each plumber about the call fee before the visit.

In California, plumbing work is covered by the C-36 plumbing contractor licence from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). It describes a plumbing contractor as one who provides a supply of safe water and the proper disposal of fluid waste.

To check a licence, use the CSLB's online Check a License page. You can search by licence number or business name. You can also call (800) 321-CSLB (2752). Contractors must put their licence number on business cards, bids and contracts.

Local Business America does not check licences, verify businesses or rank them. Please check the CSLB yourself before you hire anyone.