HVAC Business Owner Age: How Old the Owners Are, per Census Data
- Primary data
- Census Bureau Annual Business Survey (ABS), Characteristics of Business Owners
- Data period
- Reference years 2017 to 2023, plus SBO 2012
- Latest release used
- 2025-11-20
- Next release
- 2025 ABS (reference year 2024): not yet posted on 2026-11-02
- Geography
- United States; states for construction only
- Sources
- 19 (16 Tier 1)
HVAC business owner age skews older, but not older than the US average. In reference year 2023, 49.0% of owners of building equipment contracting firms with employees (NAICS 2382, which includes HVAC) were 55 or older and 19.7% were 65 or older, versus 51.3% and 23.1% across all industries, per the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey.
What HVAC business owner age looks like next to every other industry
Half the owners of HVAC, plumbing and electrical contracting firms with employees are 55 or older. That is slightly younger than the US business-owner population, not older.
Building equipment contractors (NAICS 2382): The most detailed industry for which Census publishes owner age. It combines electrical contractors (79,611 employer firms in 2022), plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (107,004) and other building equipment contractors (6,721), per SUSB 2022. Plumbing-HVAC firms are 55.4% of the group, so its owner profile is the closest published proxy for HVAC owners.
In reference year 2023, 29.3% of building equipment owners were 55 to 64 and 19.7% were 65 or older, according to the 2024 Annual Business Survey owner file. Across all industries the same bands were 28.2% and 23.1%.
The trade's 65-plus share is 3.4 points below the all-industry share in 2023. Using the published standard errors, that gap is statistically significant (z = 4.1). Specialty trade contractors as a whole (48.4% aged 55 or older) and all construction (49.1%) sit at almost the same level as the HVAC group.
Percent of owners reporting age; employer firms unless noted
Source: Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Business Survey (reference year 2023) and 2023 Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics.
| Owner age | Building equipment contractors, employer firms (%) | Specialty trade contractors, employer firms (%) | Construction, employer firms (%) | All industries, employer firms (%) | Building equipment contractors, nonemployer firms (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| 25 to 34 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 17.8 |
| 35 to 44 | 19.4 | 19.2 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 22.4 |
| 45 to 54 | 26.6 | 25.8 | 25.6 | 25.0 | 20.7 |
| 55 to 64 | 29.3 | 29.3 | 29.2 | 28.2 | 18.9 |
| 65 or over | 19.7 | 19.1 | 19.9 | 23.1 | 12.9 |
| 55 or older (calculated) | 49.0 | 48.4 | 49.1 | 51.3 | 31.8 |
| Owners reporting age | 154621 | 363253 | 552579 | 4208231 | 370000 |
Percent of owners who reported their age. Employer columns: Annual Business Survey owners of responding firms (up to four owners per firm). Nonemployer column: Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics, counts rounded by Census. The 55 or older row is our calculation from counts.
For an HVAC owner, the takeaway is that roughly one competitor in two is in the same age bracket as a typical owner planning a handoff, and the trade is not unusual in that respect.
About 52,400 plumbing and HVAC companies have an owner 55 or older
Census reports shares of owners, not counts of firms. Applying the 2023 owner shares to the employer firm count gives an order-of-magnitude estimate of how many companies sit with older owners.
SUSB 2022 counts 107,004 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor firms with employees. Multiplying by the 49.0% owner share aged 55 or older gives about 52,400 firms; the 19.7% share aged 65 or older gives about 21,100.
Using the wider building equipment group and the ABS 2023 firm count of 195,747, the same arithmetic gives about 95,800 firms with owners 55 or older and 38,500 with owners 65 or older.
| Group | Employer firms | Firm count source | Owner share 55+ (%) | Implied firms, owners 55+ | Owner share 65+ (%) | Implied firms, owners 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 238220) | 107004 | SUSB 2022 | 49.0 | 52400.0 | 19.7 | 21100.0 |
| Building equipment contractors (NAICS 2382) | 195747 | ABS 2023 | 49.0 | 95800.0 | 19.7 | 38500.0 |
| All industries | 5934950 | ABS 2023 | 51.3 | 3043000.0 | 23.1 | 1369000.0 |
Our estimate: the owner-level age share from the 2023 ABS multiplied by an employer firm count. It assumes owner ages are spread across firms the way they are spread across owners. The NAICS 238220 row applies the NAICS 2382 age mix to the 2022 SUSB firm count. Rounded to hundreds (thousands for all industries).
Source: [1][8][11] U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau
The responding building equipment firms alone named 75,698 owners aged 55 or older in 2023. That is a floor, because roughly half of firms did not answer the owner questions.
The 65-plus share rose from 16.4% to 19.7% in three years
The owner base is ageing in place. The 55-plus share is flat, but the oldest band is filling from the one below it.
Percent of employer-firm owners reporting age
Source: Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey, reference years 2020 and 2023; HVAC Business Brokers Research Desk calculation.
Between 2020 and 2023 the building equipment share aged 55 to 64 fell 3.3 points and the share aged 65 or older rose 3.3 points. Both moves pass a 90 percent significance test on the published standard errors (z = -2.6 and 3.1).
Construction gives the longer view. In the 2012 Survey of Business Owners, 11.0% of construction employer-firm owners were 65 or older; by 2023 the ABS put it at 19.9%. The estimated median construction owner age moved from 51.9 to 54.7 years. The two surveys differ in design, so read the size of the change as indicative.
Percent of employer-firm owners; 2012 from the Survey of Business Owners, gap years not surveyed
Source: Census Bureau, Survey of Business Owners 2012 and Annual Business Survey 2017 to 2023.
| Reference year | Survey | Building equipment 55+ (%) | Building equipment 65+ (%) | Specialty trade 55+ (%) | Construction 55+ (%) | Construction 65+ (%) | All industries 55+ (%) | All industries 65+ (%) | Building equipment median age (est.) | All industries median age (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SBO 2012 | not published | not published | not published | 39.6 | 11.0 | 44.7 | 15.9 | not published | 53.3 |
| 2017 | 2018 ABS | not published | not published | not published | 48.3 | 15.3 | 50.8 | 20.1 | not published | 55.3 |
| 2018 | 2019 ABS | not published | not published | not published | 48.4 | 16.0 | 50.8 | 20.4 | not published | 55.3 |
| 2019 | 2020 ABS | not published | not published | 47.5 | 48.4 | 16.6 | 50.9 | 20.9 | not published | 55.3 |
| 2020 | 2021 ABS | 49.0 | 16.4 | 47.7 | 48.9 | 17.0 | 51.1 | 21.4 | 54.7 | 55.4 |
| 2021 | 2022 ABS | 50.2 | 18.3 | 49.6 | 50.4 | 18.9 | 52.3 | 22.8 | 55.1 | 55.8 |
| 2022 | 2023 ABS | 50.5 | 19.9 | 48.9 | 49.5 | 19.0 | 51.7 | 22.8 | 55.2 | 55.6 |
| 2023 | 2024 ABS | 49.0 | 19.7 | 48.4 | 49.1 | 19.9 | 51.3 | 23.1 | 54.6 | 55.5 |
Reference years. 2012 is the Survey of Business Owners; 2017 onward is the Annual Business Survey (named by collection year, one year later). Building equipment (NAICS 2382) is first published for 2020 and specialty trade (NAICS 238) for 2019. Median ages are our interpolation inside 10-year bands, not Census figures.
Source: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][10] U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau
How long HVAC owners have held their companies
Most building equipment owners took over or started their business in the 2000s or 2010s. About one in five has held it since before 2000.
In 2023, 22.2% of building equipment owners had acquired the business before 2000, meaning 24 or more years of ownership. Another 21.2% acquired it in 2000 to 2009 and 29.4% in 2010 to 2019. 13.6% took ownership in 2020 to 2023, close to the all-industry 14.8%.
Percent of owners reporting
Source: Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Business Survey (reference year 2023).
The long-tenure group is thinning: the share acquired before 2000 was 26.9% in the 2020 survey and 22.2% in 2023, a change of -4.7 points. 13.7% of owners answered "don't know", which Census keeps in the denominator.
| Year the owner acquired the business | Years of ownership by 2023 | Building equipment contractors (%) | Building equipment owners (count) | All industries (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1980 | 44 or more | 2.6 | 4024 | 2.1 |
| 1980 to 1989 | 34 to 43 | 7.5 | 11574 | 5.3 |
| 1990 to 1999 | 24 to 33 | 12.1 | 18722 | 10.6 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 14 to 23 | 21.2 | 32737 | 19.2 |
| 2010 to 2019 | 4 to 13 | 29.4 | 45505 | 33.7 |
| 2020 | 3 | 3.4 | 5299 | 4.3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 4.5 | 7023 | 4.9 |
| 2022 | 1 | 3.5 | 5385 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | under 1 | 2.1 | 3262 | 1.3 |
| Don't know | unknown | 13.7 | 21167 | 14.4 |
| Before 2000 (calculated) | 24 or more | 22.2 | 34320 | 17.9 |
| 2020 to 2023 (calculated) | 3 or fewer | 13.6 | 20969 | 14.8 |
Percent of owners reporting. 'Acquired' covers founding, buying, inheriting or receiving the business. Years of ownership are counted to 2023. Don't know answers stay in the denominator, as Census publishes them.
Source: [1] U.S. Census Bureau
Owners without employees skew much younger
The companies most likely to change hands, those with payroll, have the oldest owners.
Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics, built from administrative records, show that 31.8% of owners of building equipment businesses without paid employees were 55 or older in 2023 and 12.9% were 65 or older. That is 17.2 points below the employer-firm figure. 17.8% of nonemployer owners were 25 to 34, against 4.8% of employer-firm owners.
The two sources are collected differently (a survey of employer firms versus linked tax and census records), so the gap is a broad contrast rather than a precise difference.
Trade-school owners, first businesses and few earlier exits
Building equipment owners rely on the business for income more often than other owners, and few of them have sold a business before.
In 2023, 84.0% of building equipment owners said the business was their primary source of income (all industries: 72.0%). 56.3% said it was their first business (all industries: 48.7%). 22.8% called carrying on a family business a very important reason for owning it (all industries: 18.3%).
| Owner characteristic (2023) | Building equipment contractors (%) | All industries (%) | Difference (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business is the owner's primary source of income | 84.0 | 72.0 | 12.0 |
| Highest education is trade, technical or vocational school | 26.3 | 5.4 | 20.9 |
| Highest education is a bachelor's degree | 16.5 | 30.9 | -14.4 |
| This is the owner's first business | 56.3 | 48.7 | 7.6 |
| Prior business was bought by a company or individual | 1.4 | 2.9 | -1.5 |
| Carrying on a family business was very important | 22.8 | 18.3 | 4.5 |
| Born in the U.S. | 91.6 | 80.5 | 11.1 |
| Women as a share of owners | 19.7 | 31.8 | -12.1 |
| Veterans as a share of owners | 8.1 | 5.8 | 2.3 |
| Firm has one owner (share of firms) | 57.4 | 61.0 | -3.6 |
| Firm is family-owned (share of firms) | 30.1 | 26.1 | 4.0 |
Percent of owners reporting each item, except the last two rows, which are percent of responding firms. Women and veteran shares are our calculation from owners reporting age.
Age differs by owner group. 54.6% of women owners in building equipment were 55 or older, against 47.6% of men. Veterans, 8.1% of owners, were the oldest group: 67.0% were 55 or older.
| Owner group (2023) | Building equipment: share 55+ (%) | Building equipment: share 65+ (%) | Building equipment: owners reporting age | All industries: share 55+ (%) | All industries: share 65+ (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female owners | 54.6 | 22.9 | 30498 | 49.3 | 21.1 |
| Male owners | 47.6 | 18.9 | 124123 | 52.2 | 24.0 |
| Veteran owners | 67.0 | 39.1 | 12457 | 71.3 | 48.3 |
| Nonveteran owners | 47.4 | 18.0 | 142165 | 50.0 | 21.5 |
| All owners | 49.0 | 19.7 | 154621 | 51.3 | 23.1 |
Owners of responding employer firms who reported age; our calculation from Census counts.
Source: [1] U.S. Census Bureau
Owner age is a different measure from the age of the field workforce, which is covered in our HVAC technician shortage report.
Which states have the oldest construction business owners
Census publishes owner age by state only for construction as a whole. The spread between states is wide.
Among states with reliable estimates, Massachusetts (57.7%), Louisiana (57.4%), Maryland (57.2%) and Virginia (56.8%) had the highest share of construction employer-firm owners aged 55 or older in 2023. Wyoming (28.6%), Utah (29.7%) and Idaho (31.2%) had among the lowest. In 24 of the 51 areas ranked (50 states plus the District of Columbia), at least half of construction owners were 55 or older.
Percent of employer-firm owners reporting age; all construction, NAICS 23
Source: Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Business Survey (reference year 2023); HVAC Business Brokers Research Desk calculation.
Show all 51 rows
| Rank | State | Code | Construction owners 55+ (%) | Aged 55 to 64 (%) | Aged 65 or over (%) | SE of 55 to 64 pct | SE of 65+ pct | Owners reporting age | Reliability note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | HI | 68.7 | 28.7 | 40.0 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 1973 | use with caution |
| 2 | Rhode Island | RI | 66.1 | 39.7 | 26.4 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 1810 | use with caution |
| 3 | Delaware | DE | 58.3 | 24.8 | 33.5 | 4.6 | 7.7 | 1144 | use with caution |
| 4 | Massachusetts | MA | 57.7 | 33.6 | 24.1 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 12022 | |
| 5 | Louisiana | LA | 57.4 | 32.8 | 24.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 5851 | |
| 6 | Maryland | MD | 57.2 | 35.8 | 21.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 11552 | |
| 7 | Virginia | VA | 56.8 | 33.9 | 22.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 15394 | |
| 8 | Michigan | MI | 55.8 | 30.6 | 25.1 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 15219 | |
| 9 | West Virginia | WV | 55.4 | 35.8 | 19.6 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 2377 | use with caution |
| 10 | Connecticut | CT | 55.3 | 35.7 | 19.6 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 5128 | |
| 11 | New Jersey | NJ | 54.9 | 32.6 | 22.3 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 12798 | |
| 12 | New York | NY | 53.3 | 36.0 | 17.2 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 24978 | |
| 13 | Ohio | OH | 53.0 | 28.1 | 24.9 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 16281 | |
| 14 | Georgia | GA | 52.6 | 31.3 | 21.2 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 13674 | |
| 15 | Illinois | IL | 52.4 | 34.6 | 17.8 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 21094 | |
| 16 | Missouri | MO | 52.4 | 30.2 | 22.2 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 10013 | |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | PA | 52.4 | 32.9 | 19.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 20760 | |
| 18 | New Hampshire | NH | 52.2 | 35.0 | 17.2 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 4270 | |
| 19 | Indiana | IN | 51.8 | 31.8 | 20.0 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 12255 | |
| 20 | California | CA | 51.7 | 30.1 | 21.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 58402 | |
| 21 | New Mexico | NM | 51.2 | 23.4 | 27.8 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 3591 | use with caution |
| 22 | Mississippi | MS | 50.4 | 27.0 | 23.4 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 2188 | use with caution |
| 23 | North Carolina | NC | 50.4 | 30.2 | 20.3 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 18730 | |
| 24 | Maine | ME | 50.3 | 35.7 | 14.6 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 4421 | use with caution |
| 25 | Wisconsin | WI | 49.9 | 29.5 | 20.4 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 13218 | |
| 26 | Kentucky | KY | 49.2 | 31.7 | 17.5 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 5154 | |
| 27 | Florida | FL | 48.6 | 28.6 | 20.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 39898 | |
| 28 | Texas | TX | 48.6 | 27.0 | 21.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 35489 | |
| 29 | Nebraska | NE | 48.4 | 25.6 | 22.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5532 | |
| 30 | Nevada | NV | 48.3 | 28.5 | 19.8 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 4687 | |
| 31 | Oklahoma | OK | 47.6 | 25.3 | 22.3 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 6514 | |
| 32 | Tennessee | TN | 47.6 | 27.9 | 19.7 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 8126 | |
| 33 | Arizona | AZ | 47.0 | 27.7 | 19.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 11366 | |
| 34 | Vermont | VT | 46.7 | 29.9 | 16.8 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 2044 | |
| 35 | South Carolina | SC | 45.8 | 30.0 | 15.8 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 7734 | |
| 36 | South Dakota | SD | 45.3 | 24.9 | 20.4 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 3776 | use with caution |
| 37 | Colorado | CO | 44.8 | 28.0 | 16.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 15347 | |
| 38 | Alabama | AL | 44.2 | 20.9 | 23.3 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 6238 | |
| 39 | Arkansas | AR | 43.7 | 24.1 | 19.6 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 4970 | |
| 40 | Minnesota | MN | 42.9 | 24.3 | 18.5 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 14351 | |
| 41 | Iowa | IA | 42.1 | 26.5 | 15.6 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 7540 | |
| 42 | Kansas | KS | 41.6 | 23.8 | 17.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 6184 | |
| 43 | Washington | WA | 40.7 | 22.2 | 18.6 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 21221 | |
| 44 | Oregon | OR | 39.7 | 26.2 | 13.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 12648 | |
| 45 | Alaska | AK | 37.5 | 16.6 | 21.0 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 1697 | use with caution |
| 46 | Montana | MT | 36.4 | 20.5 | 15.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 5063 | |
| 47 | Idaho | ID | 31.2 | 22.9 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 7460 | |
| 48 | District of Columbia | DC | 30.6 | 27.8 | 2.7 | 8.3 | 3.1 | 255 | use with caution |
| 49 | Utah | UT | 29.7 | 17.8 | 11.8 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 9734 | |
| 50 | Wyoming | WY | 28.6 | 16.7 | 11.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 1894 | |
| 51 | North Dakota | ND | 26.5 | 15.6 | 10.9 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 1876 | use with caution |
All construction (NAICS 23), the most detailed industry Census publishes for states. Percent of owners of responding employer firms. 'Use with caution' marks states where either published standard error is 5 points or more.
Source: [1] U.S. Census Bureau
11 smaller states carry standard errors of 5 points or more on at least one band and are marked; their rank can move several places between survey years.
What an older owner base means for the trade
In plain terms: a large block of HVAC companies will change owners over the next decade or close.
With 19.7% of owners already 65 or older and the 55 to 64 band moving up behind them, the number of HVAC companies whose owners are at or past the usual retirement age is large and has grown since 2020, which points to many ownership changes, family handoffs or closures ahead. Owners weighing that question can start at the site's main guide.
The numbers in one list
- 49.0% of owners of US building equipment contracting firms with employees were 55 or older in 2023 (Census Annual Business Survey, NAICS 2382).[1]
- 19.7% of those owners were 65 or older in 2023, compared with 23.1% of owners across all US industries.[1]
- The share of building equipment owners aged 65 or older rose from 16.4% in 2020 to 19.7% in 2023, a 3.3-point increase that clears the survey's 90 percent significance test (z = 3.1).[1][4]
- The 55 to 64 band shrank from 32.6% to 29.3% over the same years, so the 55-plus share held at 49.0% in 2020 and 49.0% in 2023: the same owners are moving up a band and the group is ageing in place.[1][4]
- An estimated 52,400 US plumbing, heating and air-conditioning employer firms have owners aged 55 or older, and about 21,100 have owners 65 or older (our estimate from 2023 ABS shares and 107,004 SUSB 2022 firms).[1][11]
- The estimated median age of building equipment owners was 54.6 years in 2023, against 55.5 for all industries (our interpolation of Census age bands).[1]
- Building equipment firms counted 2.0 owners aged 55 or older for every owner under 45 in 2023.[1]
- In construction, the share of employer-firm owners aged 65 or older went from 11.0% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2023, 1.81 times the 2012 level (SBO 2012 vs ABS 2023).[1][10]
- 22.2% of building equipment owners had acquired their business before 2000, versus 17.9% of all owners; in 2020 the building equipment figure was 26.9%.[1][4]
- Owners of building equipment firms without employees are younger: 31.8% were 55 or older in 2023 (Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics), 17.2 points below employer-firm owners.[1][9]
- 8.1% of building equipment owners were veterans in 2023, and 39.1% of those veteran owners were 65 or older.[1]
- Only 1.4% of building equipment owners said a business they owned before was bought by another company or individual, half the all-industry rate of 2.9% (2023).[1]
- 26.3% of building equipment owners list trade, technical or vocational school as their highest education, against 5.4% of all US employer-firm owners (2023).[1]
- Among construction owners, Massachusetts (57.7%) had the highest 55-plus share of the states with reliable estimates in 2023 and Wyoming (28.6%) one of the lowest.[1]
Calculations
Share of building equipment owners aged 55 or older, 2023
Formula(owners 55 to 64 + owners 65 or over) / owners reporting age x 100
Inputs: rows 295, 297, 298 (fact sheet rows)
Result: (45,257 + 30,441) / 154,621 = 49.0%
About half of owners are 55 or older, against 51.3% for all industries.
Limitations: Owners of responding firms only; NAICS 2382 includes electrical contractors.
Signature estimate: plumbing-HVAC employer firms with owners 55+ and 65+
Formulaowner share aged 55+ (or 65+) in NAICS 2382, 2023 ABS x NAICS 238220 employer firms, SUSB 2022
Inputs: rows 295, 297, 298, 490 (fact sheet rows)
Result: 49.0% x 107,004 = about 52,400; 19.7% x 107,004 = about 21,100
An order-of-magnitude count of HVAC and plumbing companies whose owners are at or near retirement age.
Limitations: Treats owner shares as firm shares; uses the 2382 age mix for 238220; firm count is one year older than the age data.
Change in the 65-plus share, building equipment, 2020 to 2023
Formulapublished percent 2023 minus published percent 2020; z = difference / sqrt(SE2023^2 + SE2020^2)
Inputs: rows 296, 140 (fact sheet rows)
Result: 19.7 minus 16.4 = 3.3 points (z = 3.1)
The oldest band grew by about a fifth in three years.
Limitations: Different sample of respondents each year; 2020 was a pandemic year.
Estimated median owner age
Formulalinear interpolation inside the age band that holds the 50th percentile owner, bands taken as 18-25, 25-35, 35-45, 45-55, 55-65, 65-75
Inputs: rows 298 and the six age-band counts above it (fact sheet rows)
Result: 54.6 years for building equipment (2023); 55.5 for all industries; 51.9 to 54.7 for construction 2012 to 2023
The typical HVAC-group owner is in their mid-fifties.
Limitations: Census does not publish a mean or median; result assumes ages are spread evenly inside each band.
Employer vs nonemployer owners aged 55 or older, building equipment, 2023
Formulaemployer share 55+ (ABS) minus nonemployer share 55+ (NES-D, published 55 to 64 plus 65+)
Inputs: rows 298, 479, 480 (fact sheet rows)
Result: 49.0 minus 31.8 = 17.2 points
Firms with payroll have markedly older owners than one-person operations.
Limitations: Survey data versus administrative records; NES-D counts are rounded.
Owners acquired before 2000, building equipment, 2020 vs 2023
Formula(before 1980 + 1980 to 1989 + 1990 to 1999) / owners reporting x 100
Inputs: rows 338, 401 and the band counts above them (fact sheet rows)
Result: 26.9% in 2020; 22.2% in 2023 (-4.7 points)
Long-tenure owners are leaving the owner base.
Limitations: Don't know answers stay in the denominator; different respondents each year.
Questions people ask
What is the average age of HVAC business owners?
Census does not publish an average. Interpolating its age bands puts the median owner of a building equipment contracting firm with employees at about 54.6 years in 2023, against 55.5 for all industries. 49.0% of these owners were 55 or older.
How many HVAC owners are near retirement age?
49.0% of building equipment owners were 55 or older in 2023 and 19.7% were 65 or older. Applied to 107,004 plumbing-HVAC employer firms, that implies about 52,400 firms with owners 55 or older and 21,100 with owners 65 or older (our estimate).
How long have HVAC owners owned their businesses?
In 2023, 22.2% had owned their business since before 2000 (24 years or more), 21.2% since 2000 to 2009, 29.4% since 2010 to 2019 and 13.6% since 2020 or later; 13.7% did not know.
Summary
- 49.0% of building equipment contracting owners were 55 or older in 2023; all US industries: 51.3%.
- 19.7% were 65 or older, 3.4 points below the all-industry 23.1%.
- The 65-plus share rose 3.3 points from 2020 to 2023 while the 55 to 64 share fell 3.3 points.
- Our estimate: about 52,400 plumbing-HVAC employer firms have owners 55 or older and about 21,100 have owners 65 or older.
- Estimated median owner age: 54.6 years (all industries 55.5).
- 22.2% of owners have held the business since before 2000; 13.6% took over in 2020 to 2023.
- Owners of building equipment businesses with no employees are younger: 31.8% aged 55 or older.
Frequently asked questions
Are HVAC business owners older than other business owners?
No. In 2023, 19.7% of building equipment owners were 65 or older, against 23.1% across all US employer firms (Census Annual Business Survey). The 55-plus shares were 49.0% and 51.3%.
What share of HVAC business owners are under 45?
24.4% of building equipment owners were under 45 in 2023, compared with 23.7% of all employer-firm owners (Census ABS).
How many older owners are there for each young HVAC owner?
Building equipment firms counted 2.0 owners aged 55 or older for every owner under 45 in 2023, based on Census ABS counts of responding firms.
Is the HVAC owner base getting older?
Yes, at the top. The share aged 65 or older rose from 16.4% in 2020 to 19.7% in 2023. In construction as a whole the 65-plus share went from 11.0% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2023.
Are owners of one-person HVAC businesses younger?
Yes. 31.8% of owners of building equipment businesses without employees were 55 or older in 2023 (Census NES-D), against 49.0% for firms with employees.
Why does Census not publish owner age for NAICS 238220 alone?
The owner tables stop at the 4-digit level, NAICS 2382. Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors are 55.4% of that group's employer firms (SUSB 2022); the rest are mainly electrical contractors.
Are women HVAC business owners older than men?
In 2023, 54.6% of women owners of building equipment firms were 55 or older, against 47.6% of men. Women were 19.7% of owners reporting age (Census ABS).
How old are veteran HVAC business owners?
Veterans were 8.1% of building equipment owners in 2023; 67.0% of them were 55 or older and 39.1% were 65 or older (Census ABS).
Do HVAC owners depend on the business for income?
84.0% of building equipment owners said the business was their primary source of income in 2023, against 72.0% of all employer-firm owners (Census ABS).
Which states have the oldest construction business owners?
Among states with reliable 2023 estimates, Massachusetts (57.7%) and Louisiana (57.4%) had the highest share of construction owners aged 55 or older; Wyoming (28.6%) had one of the lowest.
Download the data
Every table in this report is available as a CSV under CC BY 4.0. The fact sheet lists each value with its source URL and access date.
For journalists and researchers
If you cite only a few, cite these
- 49.0% of US building equipment contracting owners (NAICS 2382, includes HVAC) were 55 or older in 2023, per the Census Annual Business Survey.[1]
- About 52,400 US plumbing-HVAC employer firms have owners aged 55 or older (estimate from Census ABS 2023 and SUSB 2022).[1][11]
- The 65-plus share of these owners rose from 16.4% in 2020 to 19.7% in 2023 (Census ABS).[1][4]
Most quotable statistics
- 49.0% of owners of US building equipment contracting firms with employees, the Census group that includes HVAC, were 55 or older in 2023 (Census Annual Business Survey).[1]
- 19.7% of US building equipment contracting owners were 65 or older in 2023, up from 16.4% in 2020 (Census ABS).[1][4]
- About 52,400 US plumbing, heating and air-conditioning companies with employees have an owner aged 55 or older, by an HVAC Business Brokers Research Desk estimate from Census data.[1][11]
- HVAC-group owners are slightly younger than US business owners in general: 19.7% were 65 or older in 2023, against 23.1% across all industries (Census ABS).[1]
- The share of US construction business owners aged 65 or older rose from 11.0% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2023 (Census SBO and ABS).[1][10]
- Only 1.4% of US building equipment contracting owners had previously sold a business to a company or individual (Census ABS, 2023).[1]
Press summary
Census Bureau data show that 49.0% of the owners of US building equipment contracting firms with employees, the industry group that includes HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors, were 55 or older in 2023 and 19.7% were 65 or older, slightly below the all-industry figures of 51.3% and 23.1%, according to an analysis of the Annual Business Survey by the HVAC Business Brokers Research Desk. The oldest group is growing: the 65-plus share rose from 16.4% in 2020, and in construction as a whole it climbed from 11.0% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2023. Applying the 2023 owner shares to 107,004 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning employer firms counted by Census suggests about 52,400 such companies have an owner aged 55 or older, including about 21,100 with an owner 65 or older.
Suggested headlines
- Half of HVAC-Group Business Owners Are 55 or Older, Census Data Show
- About 52,400 Plumbing and HVAC Companies Have an Owner Past 55
- HVAC Owners 65 and Older Rose to 19.7% in 2023
- HVAC Owners Are Ageing, but Not Faster Than US Business Owners
- Construction Owners 65 and Older Went From 11.0% to 19.9% of the Total Since 2012
How to cite this report
HVAC Business Brokers. (2026). HVAC Business Owner Age: How Old the Owners Are, per Census Data. Retrieved from https://sell-my-hvac-business.com/research/hvac-business-owner-age/
Reuse license
Data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0. Attribution: “Source: HVAC Business Brokers, HVAC Business Owner Age: How Old the Owners Are, per Census Data” with a link to this page.
Reproduce this analysis
Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.
| Dataset | Publisher | Source | Query or filter | Rows used | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS Characteristics of Business Owners, reference years 2017 to 2023 | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | GEO_ID 0100000US; NAICS 00, 23, 238, 2382; OWNER_SEX 001, OWNER_ETH 001, OWNER_RACE 00, OWNER_VET 001 for all owners; QDESC OWNRAGE, YRACQBUS, PRIMINC, EDUC, USBORN, PRIORBUSTAT, REASONOWN; sex and veteran splits for OWNRAGE | 133,980 national rows kept in raw/census_abs/cbo_tidy_us.csv; 8 age rows per year-industry pair used (6 bands, total reporting, not reported) | 2026-11-02 |
| ABS Characteristics of Business Owners, state rows, reference year 2023 | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | GEOTYPE 02 (states); NAICS 23; all owners; OWNRAGE codes ED, EE, EF | 51 areas x 3 codes | 2026-11-02 |
| ABS Company Summary, reference year 2023 | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | US; NAICS 00 and 2382; all firms; QDESC OWNRNUM and FAMOWN | 2 industries, 6 characteristics | 2026-11-02 |
| Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics 2023, owner characteristics | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | US; NAICS 00 and 2382; all owners (codes 000); QDESC OWNRAGE | 2 industries x 7 age rows | 2026-11-02 |
| Survey of Business Owners 2012, owner age | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | US; NAICS 00 and 23; CBOGROUP 00, CBOSEX 00; OWNRAGE | 2 industries x 8 age rows | 2026-11-02 |
| Statistics of U.S. Businesses 2022 | U.S. Census Bureau | File or endpoint | STATE 00; ENTRSIZE 01 (total); NAICS 2382, 238210, 238220, 238290 | 4 | 2026-11-02 |
Data quality and exclusions
- Owners who did not report age were left out of age percents, as Census does: 758 owners in building equipment for 2023.
- Owners who answered "don't know" to the acquisition year (21,167 in building equipment, 2023) stay in the denominator, matching the published percents.
- State estimates: 11 of 51 areas are marked 'use with caution' because a published standard error of percent is 5 points or more.
- Suppressed cells (flag S) were not used: for example, women owners under 25 in building equipment in 2023.
- The combined SBO 2012 owner archive (SBOCBO2012.zip) was damaged and would not extract; the individual table files SB1200CSCBO08 and SB1200CSCBO02 were used instead.
- The Census Data API returned a missing-key redirect, so all Census data were read from bulk files on www2.census.gov.
Methodology
Selection: owner age, year of acquisition and other owner characteristics come from the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey (ABS) Characteristics of Business Owners bulk files for reference years 2017 to 2023, downloaded from www2.census.gov because the Census Data API now requires a key. The 2012 comparison uses the Survey of Business Owners. Firm counts come from the ABS Company Summary (2023) and Statistics of U.S. Businesses (2022). Nonemployer owner ages come from Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics 2023.
Naming: the ABS is named for the year it is collected and covers the year before. The 2024 ABS, released 2025-11-20, covers reference year 2023. This report labels every figure by reference year.
Inclusion: national rows for all owners (not split by sex, ethnicity, race or veteran status) in all industries, construction (NAICS 23), specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238) and building equipment contractors (NAICS 2382). NAICS 238220 is not published in the owner tables. State rows exist only for NAICS 23 and are used for the state table.
Units: owner tables count owners, not firms. A firm reports up to four owners, and only responding firms are included, with no adjustment for nonresponse. We therefore use shares, not owner counts, for comparisons, and we label the firm estimate as an estimate.
Derived metrics: shares aged 55 or older are computed from published counts. Significance tests use the published standard errors of percents. Median ages interpolate within 10-year bands. The firm estimate multiplies the owner share by an employer firm count. Every calculation is in derived_metrics.csv and scripts/compute.py.
Conflicts: where a percent computed from counts differs from the sum of published rounded percents by 0.1, we use the count-based figure for ABS and the published percents for NES-D, whose counts are rounded. Trade-survey age figures (HARDI) are shown only as context.
Last updated 2026-11-02. Free valuation questions go through the site's form; nothing in this report is a valuation.
This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.
Sources, ranked by quality
Tier 1: primary and official sources (16)
- [1] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2023 (2024 ABS), bulk file AB2300CSCBO. 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [2] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2022, bulk file AB2200CSCBO. 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [3] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2021, bulk file AB2100CSCBO. 2021. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [4] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2020, bulk file AB2000CSCBO. 2020. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [5] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2019, bulk file AB1900CSCBO. 2019. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [6] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2018, bulk file AB1800CSCBO. 2018. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [7] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Characteristics of Business Owners, reference year 2017, bulk file AB1700CSCBO. 2017. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [8] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey, Company Summary, reference year 2023, bulk file AB2300CSCB01. 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [9] U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics 2023, owner characteristics, bulk file AB2300NESD04. 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [10] U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Business Owners 2012, Characteristics of Business Owners: owner age, table SB1200CSCBO08. 2012. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [11] U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics of U.S. Businesses 2022, U.S. and state by 6-digit NAICS (us_state_6digitnaics_2022). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [12] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey Methodology 2024 (covers reference year 2023). 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [13] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey Methodology 2023 (covers reference year 2022). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [14] U.S. Census Bureau. Census Bureau Releases New Data About Characteristics of Employer and Nonemployer Business Owners (CB25-TPS.77, 2025-11-20). 2023. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [15] U.S. Census Bureau. Business Owners' Ages: Over Half of U.S. Business Owners Were Age 55 and Over (visualization, 2020). 2018. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [16] U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics of U.S. Businesses Methodology. 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (1)
- [17] HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International). HVACR Contractors are Getting Younger (Voice of the Contractor highlight). 2024. Accessed 2026-11-02.
Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (2)
- [18] ACHR News (BNP Media). Under 35 and Buying: A New Generation of HVAC Business Owners Emerges. 2025 to 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- [19] Contracting Business. 3 Ways the Aging of America Will Impact Your Business. 2013 to 2015. Accessed 2026-11-02.