Commercial Pest Control recruiters serving Detroit.
Detroit has about 730 pest control workers, 24th of the 108 we cover, and still 42% fewer per job than the country - so they are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 92 business locations of pest control companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Detroit.
BLS counts about 730 pest control workers in the Detroit metro. Relative to the size of the local economy, pest control workers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.58). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Pest Control hub.
Commercial Pest Control Technician
Detroit: 730 employed · $44,470 median, 64th-highest of 109 metros
Licensed Pest Control Applicator
Termite / WDI Inspector
Fumigation Technician
Commercial Account Manager
Detroit: 13,130 employed · $76,990 median, 16th-highest of 111 metros
Pest Control Branch / Route Manager
Detroit: 3,660 employed · $101,860 median, 65th-highest of 112 metros
Pest Control Service Manager
Detroit: 37,250 employed · $104,010 median, 50th-highest of 112 metros
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Specialist
Bird / Wildlife Exclusion Technician
Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep
Detroit: 17,190 employed · $77,870 median, 15th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Pest Control roles earn in Detroit.
Pest control workers in Detroit earn a median $44,470, level with the $45,250 national figure, and 64th of 109 metros. Pay runs $40,030 at the tenth percentile to $63,040 at the ninetieth.
| Role | Detroit median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pest Control Technician · Licensed Pest Control Applicator · Termite / WDI InspectorPest Control Workers (37-2021) | $44,470 | $40,030–$63,040 | $45,250 | −2% | 730 |
| Commercial Account ManagerSales Representatives of Services (41-3091) | $76,990 | $39,990–$150,360 | $69,990 | +10% | 13,130 |
| Pest Control Branch / Route ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $101,860 | $66,240–$170,570 | $107,230 | −5% | 3,660 |
| Pest Control Service ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $104,010 | $51,910–$259,390 | $105,770 | −2% | 37,250 |
| Pest Control Sales / Business Development RepSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012) | $77,870 | $44,670–$143,150 | $72,080 | +8% | 17,190 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Detroit metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Detroit's commercial pest control market has changed since 2018.
The number of pest control companies in Detroit rose from 70 in 2018 to 92 in 2023, up 31%, ahead of the 16% national rise. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Detroit, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pest control companies: business locations | 70 | 92 | +31% |
| Pest control companies: employment | 653 | – | – |
| Pest control companies: average annual pay | $48,854 | – | – |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Commercial Pest Control hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Commercial Pest Control · 2026 Commercial Pest Control Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Commercial Pest Control
Detroit runs 42% fewer commercial pest control workers per job than the country as a whole — well below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Pest Control Workers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Detroit's commercial pest control market compares
Among the 98 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Detroit ranks 24th for headcount, 58th for median pay and 81st for concentration for pest control workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 730 | $44,470 | 0.58 | 92 |
| Grand Rapids | 150 | $44,080 | 0.39 | 37 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial pest control employers in Detroit, the local pool is thinner than most, so plan on recruiting some roles in from outside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Detroit metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Pest Control licensing in Michigan.
Michigan has two individual tiers, the commercial certified applicator and the registered applicator, plus a separate pesticide application business license. Structural work is Category 7, with subcategory 7A General Pest Management for food-handling establishments, dwellings and institutions, and 7B Wood Destroying Pest Management for termites, powder post beetles, carpenter ants and wood-destroying fungi. A certified applicator must be at least 18 and pass the commercial core exam plus at least one category exam, while a registered applicator passes only the core exam, completes an approved training program, cannot apply restricted use pesticides and must be supervised by a certified applicator when employed by a commercial business. Both credentials expire every third year on December 31. Governed by Act 451, Part 83. The same state rules apply in Grand Rapids, so candidates licensed there can work in Detroit without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Detroit talent.
The closest metro we cover is Cleveland, about 90 miles away, with roughly 310 pest control workers (0.4 times Detroit's 730). Pay is close across the region: medians run from $39,310 in Dayton to $44,520 in Akron, against $44,470 here. Detroit is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | – | 730 | $44,470 |
| Cleveland | 90 mi | 310 | $42,150 |
| Akron | 117 mi | 140 | $44,520 |
| Grand Rapids | 140 mi | 150 | $44,080 |
| Columbus | 164 mi | 500 | $40,460 |
| Dayton | 187 mi | 170 | $39,310 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Detroit crews.
Not commercial pest control work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Detroit in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Henry Ford Health "Destination: Grand" tower$2.2BRolling
Henry Ford's own flagship expansion project - this figure belongs to Henry Ford specifically, not a combined Corewell/Henry Ford total. Corewell (formerly Beaumont) has separate, smaller ongoing capital work. Hospital-grade mechanical, medical gas, and process piping - steady multi-year demand.
- GM Factory ZERO EV plant (Detroit-Hamtramck)~$2.2BRolling through 2030
Auto-manufacturing conversion to EV is driving enormous high-voltage electrical, process piping, and industrial MEP demand. Note: Ford's BlueOval Battery Park is in Marshall, MI (Battle Creek metro, ~100 mi away), not Detroit - it is not counted in this figure.
- Gordie Howe International Bridge (Detroit–Windsor)$4.4BOpened July 2026
Largest binational infrastructure project in North America, now complete - historical example of the heavy civil, structural, high-mast electrical, and toll/plaza MEP capacity this metro can deliver, not an active current driver.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Detroit market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial pest control, and what kills offers in Detroit.
The 2 credentials that gate the work and the 3 things that most often end a commercial pest control offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Commercial Pest Control credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Commercial Pest Control hiring in Detroit.
What do pest control workers earn in Detroit?
BLS puts the Detroit median for pest control workers at $44,470 a year, about the same as the $45,250 national median. That ranks 64th of 109 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $40,030 to $63,040 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Michigan metro we cover pays more for this work (Grand Rapids: $44,080).
Is it hard to hire pest control workers in Detroit?
Yes. Detroit has 42% fewer pest control workers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 730 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. With 31% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial pest control roles pay the most in Detroit?
Of the roles we recruit for, Pest Control Service Manager pays the most in Detroit, a $104,010 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Pest Control Technician at $44,470, 57% below it. Relative to national pay, Commercial Account Manager is the strongest-paying role here (10% above). Pest Control Branch / Route Manager trails national pay the most (5% below).
How many pest control companies operate in Detroit?
BLS counted 92 pest control companies in Detroit in 2023. Up from 70 in 2018, a 31% increase against 16% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Detroit for pest control workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Cleveland (90 miles, about 310, $42,150 median), Akron (117 miles, about 140, $44,520 median) and Grand Rapids (140 miles, about 150, $44,080 median). Detroit out-pays Cleveland, an advantage when recruiting from there.
Deep pool. Heavily fished.
Detroit has 730 pest control workers, 24th of the 108 metros we cover, and still 42% fewer per job than the country. The pool is deep and every employer here is fishing it. Let's get to the ones worth moving first.
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