Commercial Pest Control recruiters serving Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has about 1,350 pest control workers, 13th of the 108 we cover, and still 30% fewer per job than the country - so they are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 264 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 Philadelphia.
BLS counts about 1,350 pest control workers in the Philadelphia metro. Relative to the size of the local economy, pest control workers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.70). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Pest Control hub.
Commercial Pest Control Technician
Philadelphia: 1,350 employed · $47,260 median, 23rd-highest of 109 metros
Licensed Pest Control Applicator
Termite / WDI Inspector
Fumigation Technician
Commercial Account Manager
Philadelphia: 19,260 employed · $71,020 median, 25th-highest of 111 metros
Pest Control Branch / Route Manager
Philadelphia: 4,270 employed · $121,570 median, 19th-highest of 112 metros
Pest Control Service Manager
Philadelphia: 68,730 employed · $121,630 median, 16th-highest of 112 metros
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Specialist
Bird / Wildlife Exclusion Technician
Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep
Philadelphia: 19,060 employed · $76,580 median, 18th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Pest Control roles earn in Philadelphia.
Pest control workers in Philadelphia earn a median $47,260, 4% over the $45,250 national figure, and 23rd of 109 metros. Pay runs $38,160 at the tenth percentile to $60,240 at the ninetieth.
| Role | Philadelphia median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pest Control Technician · Licensed Pest Control Applicator · Termite / WDI InspectorPest Control Workers (37-2021) | $47,260 | $38,160–$60,240 | $45,250 | +4% | 1,350 |
| Commercial Account ManagerSales Representatives of Services (41-3091) | $71,020 | $38,930–$134,260 | $69,990 | +1% | 19,260 |
| Pest Control Branch / Route ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $121,570 | $77,490–$205,520 | $107,230 | +13% | 4,270 |
| Pest Control Service ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $121,630 | $57,210–$284,880 | $105,770 | +15% | 68,730 |
| Pest Control Sales / Business Development RepSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012) | $76,580 | $44,990–$150,010 | $72,080 | +6% | 19,060 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia's commercial pest control market has changed since 2018.
The number of pest control companies in Philadelphia rose from 244 in 2018 to 264 in 2023, up 8%, behind the 16% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Philadelphia, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pest control companies: business locations | 244 | 264 | +8% |
| Pest control companies: employment | 1,762 | – | – |
| Pest control companies: average annual pay | $48,047 | – | – |
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
Philadelphia runs 30% 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 Philadelphia's commercial pest control market compares
Among the 98 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Philadelphia ranks 13th for headcount, 19th for median pay and 71st for concentration for pest control workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 1,350 | $47,260 | 0.70 | 264 |
| Pittsburgh | 420 | $44,370 | 0.57 | 67 |
| Harrisburg | 190 | $44,910 | 0.87 | 17 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | 100 | $46,100 | 0.42 | 28 |
| Lancaster | 90 | $45,290 | 0.53 | 22 |
| Scranton | 80 | $45,740 | 0.49 | 16 |
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 Philadelphia, the headline number is misleading. About 1,350 pest control workers work here, one of the larger workforces we cover, but relative to the size of the local economy the trade is thinner than average, so every other employer is drawing on the same people. Expect to recruit people who are already employed, and to make the case for moving.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Philadelphia metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Pest Control licensing in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania requires a pesticide application business license, individual commercial applicator certification, and a lower Registered Technician tier. The relevant categories are 11, Household and Health Related, for general structural pest work, 12, Wood Destroying Pests, for termite and related work, and 13, Structural Fumigation. Certification exams are 50 questions with a 70 percent passing score and there are no prerequisites to sit for them, while a Registered Technician is trained over a minimum 30-day program administered by a certified applicator who has held certification for at least one year, may only make applications covered by that training, must renew registration each February 28, and cannot transfer the registration to another business. Recertification is on a three-year cycle. Governed by the Pennsylvania Pesticide Control Act of 1973 and 7 Pa. Code Chapter 128. The same state rules apply in Pittsburgh, Allentown-Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Scranton, so candidates licensed there can work in Philadelphia without re-qualifying. The Philadelphia metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a commercial pest control search in Philadelphia yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in Philadelphia than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- HVAC Service TechnicianA residential service technician for the King of Prussia and Philadelphia territory, coordinated around his relocation.
- Residential HVAC Service TechnicianFive days, and the technician brings test-and-balance expertise on top of service.
- Senior HVAC Service TechnicianA technician comfortable with whatever a building throws at him, not only the HVAC.
Nearby markets competing for Philadelphia talent.
The closest metro we cover is Allentown-Bethlehem, about 50 miles away, with roughly 100 pest control workers (0.1 times Philadelphia's 1,350). New York pays the most nearby, a $49,940 median, 6% above Philadelphia. That is the number any Philadelphia offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. New York has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | – | 1,350 | $47,260 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | 48 mi | 100 | $46,100 |
| Lancaster | 61 mi | 90 | $45,290 |
| New York | 81 mi | 4,380 | $49,940 |
| Baltimore | 90 mi | 870 | $45,780 |
| Harrisburg | 94 mi | 190 | $44,910 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Philadelphia crews.
Not commercial pest control work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Philadelphia in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- CHOP Roberts Children's Health Tower$2.59BOpening late 2028
CHOP's active tower expansion is the real current driver of hospital-grade mechanical demand - medical gas, isolation rooms, and OR HVAC in tight supply. (Penn Medicine's Pavilion, sometimes bundled into this figure, is a separate, already-completed $1.6B project from 2021 - kept out of this total since it's no longer an active build.)
- University expansion (UPenn, Drexel, Temple)$2B+ aggregatedThrough 2028
Research lab construction (fume hood air, specialty exhaust). Student housing + academic building expansion.
- Schuylkill Yards mixed-use (UPenn-adjacent)$3.5B plannedPhased through 2035
Major commercial + life sciences development. Long-duration construction pipeline.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Philadelphia market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial pest control, and what kills offers in Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia.
What do pest control workers earn in Philadelphia?
BLS puts the Philadelphia median for pest control workers at $47,260 a year, 4% above the $45,250 national median. That ranks 23rd of 109 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $38,160 to $60,240 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Pennsylvania metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire pest control workers in Philadelphia?
Yes. Philadelphia has 30% fewer pest control workers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 1,350 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed.
Which commercial pest control roles pay the most in Philadelphia?
Of the roles we recruit for, Pest Control Service Manager pays the most in Philadelphia, a $121,630 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Pest Control Technician at $47,260, 61% below it. Relative to national pay, Pest Control Service Manager is the strongest-paying role here (15% above).
How many pest control companies operate in Philadelphia?
BLS counted 264 pest control companies in Philadelphia in 2023. Up from 244 in 2018, an 8% 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 Philadelphia for pest control workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Allentown-Bethlehem (48 miles, about 100, $46,100 median), Lancaster (61 miles, about 90, $45,290 median) and New York (81 miles, about 4,380, $49,940 median). New York has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. New York pays 6% more, which is where Philadelphia employers tend to lose people.
Deep pool. Heavily fished.
Philadelphia has 1,350 pest control workers, 13th of the 108 metros we cover, and still 30% 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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