Commercial Pest Control recruiters serving Seattle.
Seattle has about 670 pest control workers, 26th of the 108 we cover, and still 51% fewer per job than the country - so they are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 71 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 Seattle.
BLS counts about 670 pest control workers in the Seattle metro. Relative to the size of the local economy, pest control workers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.49). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Pest Control hub.
Commercial Pest Control Technician
Seattle: 670 employed · $58,380 median, 2nd-highest of 109 metros
Licensed Pest Control Applicator
Termite / WDI Inspector
Fumigation Technician
Commercial Account Manager
Seattle: 12,450 employed · $82,540 median, 6th-highest of 111 metros
Pest Control Branch / Route Manager
Seattle: 1,690 employed · $146,080 median, 2nd-highest of 112 metros
Pest Control Service Manager
Seattle: 29,370 employed · $146,030 median, 7th-highest of 112 metros
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Specialist
Bird / Wildlife Exclusion Technician
Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep
Seattle: 16,510 employed · $82,260 median, 4th-highest of 112 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Winston-Salem, NC too.
What Commercial Pest Control roles earn in Seattle.
Pest control workers in Seattle earn a median $58,380, 29% over the $45,250 national figure, and 2nd of 109 metros. Pay runs $46,870 at the tenth percentile to $60,800 at the ninetieth.
| Role | Seattle median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pest Control Technician · Licensed Pest Control Applicator · Termite / WDI InspectorPest Control Workers (37-2021) | $58,380 | $46,870–$60,800 | $45,250 | +29% | 670 |
| Commercial Account ManagerSales Representatives of Services (41-3091) | $82,540 | $48,280–$158,990 | $69,990 | +18% | 12,450 |
| Pest Control Branch / Route ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $146,080 | $85,220–$213,910 | $107,230 | +36% | 1,690 |
| Pest Control Service ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $146,030 | $79,610–$292,160 | $105,770 | +38% | 29,370 |
| Pest Control Sales / Business Development RepSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012) | $82,260 | $53,460–$149,000 | $72,080 | +14% | 16,510 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Seattle 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 Seattle's commercial pest control market has changed since 2018.
Seattle lost pest control companies between 2018 and 2023, from 75 business locations to 71 (down 5%), behind the 16% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went down 4%, to about 897 people. Average annual pay there went from $52,472 to $63,077 (+20%), in step with the 22% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pest control companies: business locations | 75 | 71 | −5% |
| Pest control companies: employment | 931 | 897 | −4% |
| Pest control companies: average annual pay | $52,472 | $63,077 | +20% |
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
Seattle runs 51% 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 Seattle's commercial pest control market compares
Among the 98 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Seattle ranks 26th for headcount, 2nd for median pay and 88th for concentration for pest control workers. Pay here is among the highest we see, so offers need to start near the top of the range.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 670 | $58,380 | 0.49 | 71 |
| Spokane | 200 | $49,550 | 1.21 | 20 |
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 Seattle, the local pool is thin and local employers have been cutting headcount. Senior hires often come from outside the metro or from adjacent trades, so start searches earlier than you would elsewhere.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Seattle metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Pest Control licensing in Washington.
Washington issues a commercial pesticide applicator license and a commercial pesticide operator license, and separately a Structural Pest Inspector license. The two classifications covering this trade are PCO General, for general pest control in residences and commercial areas, and PCO Structural, for structurally destructive pests including fungus, termites and carpenter ants, while a Structural Pest Inspector license is required to perform complete wood destroying organism inspections. Applicants pass a laws and safety examination plus the classification exam at 70 percent, and licensed applicators may directly supervise unlicensed applicators only in classifications in which they are themselves certified. Recertification requires 40 approved credits every five years with no more than 15 in any one year. Governed by RCW 17.21 and WAC 16-228. The same state rules apply in Spokane, so candidates licensed there can work in Seattle without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Washington State Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Management Division. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a commercial pest control search in Seattle 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 Seattle than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Service Operations CoordinatorA lead dispatcher used to 20-25 technicians and 75 calls a day, placed in eight days.
- Commercial SuperintendentTwenty-five years of ground-up commercial leadership, placed in two weeks.
- Construction SuperintendentTenant-improvement and renovation leadership, including prevailing-wage public work.
Nearby markets competing for Seattle talent.
The closest metro we cover is Portland, about 145 miles away, with roughly 500 pest control workers (0.7 times Seattle's 670). Seattle pays more than every metro we cover within reach ($58,380 median), which helps when recruiting people in from Portland at $47,430. Seattle is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
What else is competing for Seattle crews.
Not commercial pest control work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Seattle in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Providence Swedish North Tower + UW Medicine hospital expansions$1.3B (Providence Swedish North Tower); UW Medicine's piece is a one-year feasibility study announced July 2026 with no disclosed cost, funding, or scheduleNorth Tower targeting 2027
Providence Swedish, and eventually UW Medicine pending its feasibility study, drive steady healthcare mechanical, med-gas, and specialty MEP demand across the metro.
- Sound Transit ST3 light-rail expansion$185B+ (revised from the original 2016 $54B estimate)Phased through 2044
Largest transit expansion in the region's history. Heavy civil, tunneling, stations, systems + traction power. Multi-year demand for civil crews, high-voltage electricians, and transit-experienced supers.
- Amazon & Microsoft campus build-outs + TIsReal trend, no verified regional totalRolling
South Lake Union and Eastside campuses plus continuous tenant-improvement churn. High-spec commercial MEP, fast-track fit-out, senior PMs with tech-client experience in constant demand.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Seattle market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial pest control, and what kills offers in Seattle.
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 Seattle.
What do pest control workers earn in Seattle?
BLS puts the Seattle median for pest control workers at $58,380 a year, 29% above the $45,250 national median. That ranks 2nd of 109 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $46,870 to $60,800 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.3x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Washington metro we cover pays more for this work (Spokane: $49,550).
Is it hard to hire pest control workers in Seattle?
Yes. Seattle has 51% fewer pest control workers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 670 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 71 pest control companies here average about 13 employees per location.
Which commercial pest control roles pay the most in Seattle?
Of the roles we recruit for, Pest Control Branch / Route Manager pays the most in Seattle, a $146,080 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Pest Control Technician at $58,380, 60% below it. Relative to national pay, Pest Control Service Manager is the strongest-paying role here (38% above).
How many pest control companies operate in Seattle?
BLS counted 71 pest control companies in Seattle in 2023, employing about 897 people between them. Down from 75 in 2018, a 5% decline against 16% growth nationally. That averages 13 people per location. They pay an average of $63,077, 15% above the $54,678 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Seattle for pest control workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Portland (145 miles, about 500, $47,430 median) and Spokane (228 miles, about 200, $49,550 median). Seattle out-pays Portland and Spokane, an advantage when recruiting from there.
Deep pool. Heavily fished.
Seattle has 670 pest control workers, 26th of the 108 metros we cover, and still 51% 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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