Commercial Pest Control recruiters serving Winston-Salem.
About 200 pest control workers work in the Winston-Salem metro, at a $44,600 median. BLS counts 36 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 Winston-Salem.
BLS counts about 200 pest control workers in the Winston-Salem metro. Relative to the size of the local economy, pest control workers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.13). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Pest Control hub.
Commercial Pest Control Technician
Winston-Salem: 200 employed · $44,600 median, 61st-highest of 109 metros
Licensed Pest Control Applicator
Termite / WDI Inspector
Fumigation Technician
Commercial Account Manager
Winston-Salem: 1,790 employed · $58,240 median, 85th-highest of 111 metros
Pest Control Branch / Route Manager
Winston-Salem: 320 employed · $106,220 median, 44th-highest of 112 metros
Pest Control Service Manager
Winston-Salem: 3,120 employed · $96,840 median, 86th-highest of 112 metros
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Specialist
Bird / Wildlife Exclusion Technician
Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep
Winston-Salem: 2,330 employed · $64,330 median, 64th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Pest Control roles earn in Winston-Salem.
Pest control workers in Winston-Salem earn a median $44,600, level with the $45,250 national figure, and 61st of 109 metros. Pay runs $29,940 at the tenth percentile to $61,080 at the ninetieth.
| Role | Winston-Salem median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pest Control Technician · Licensed Pest Control Applicator · Termite / WDI InspectorPest Control Workers (37-2021) | $44,600 | $29,940–$61,080 | $45,250 | −1% | 200 |
| Commercial Account ManagerSales Representatives of Services (41-3091) | $58,240 | $37,310–$128,300 | $69,990 | −17% | 1,790 |
| Pest Control Branch / Route ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $106,220 | $63,980–$192,300 | $107,230 | −1% | 320 |
| Pest Control Service ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $96,840 | $48,620–$221,370 | $105,770 | −8% | 3,120 |
| Pest Control Sales / Business Development RepSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012) | $64,330 | $37,080–$134,940 | $72,080 | −11% | 2,330 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem's commercial pest control market has changed since 2018.
Winston-Salem lost pest control companies between 2018 and 2023, from 37 business locations to 36 (down 3%), behind the 16% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went down 36%, to about 265 people. Average annual pay there went from $39,541 to $46,357 (+17%), slower than the 22% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pest control companies: business locations | 37 | 36 | −3% |
| Pest control companies: employment | 416 | 265 | −36% |
| Pest control companies: average annual pay | $39,541 | $46,357 | +17% |
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
Winston-Salem runs 13% more commercial pest control workers per job than the country as a whole — above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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 Winston-Salem's commercial pest control market compares
Among the 98 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Winston-Salem ranks 77th for headcount, 55th for median pay and 45th for concentration for pest control workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 1,270 | $45,250 | 1.42 | 164 |
| Raleigh | 820 | $46,470 | 1.67 | 99 |
| Greensboro | 340 | $44,460 | 1.43 | 41 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 210 | $46,720 | 0.93 | 21 |
| Winston-Salem | 200 | $44,600 | 1.13 | 36 |
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 Winston-Salem, the pool is deep but local employers have been cutting headcount. Experienced people are here, and some will be open to a move, so a clear offer and a defined path up usually beat a higher posted rate.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Winston-Salem metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Pest Control licensing in North Carolina.
North Carolina uses three tiers: Registered Technician, Certified Applicator and Structural Pest Control Licensee, and the work is divided into three phases, P for household pest control, W for wood-destroying organisms and F for fumigation. A Registered Technician must complete an introductory training workbook, at least 24 hours of on-the-job training under supervision and an eight-hour state school, and any employee of a licensee who performs structural pest control must be registered within 75 days of hire. A Licensee must already be a Certified Applicator in good standing in the phase sought, document two years of independently verifiable experience, pass the phase exam and carry liability insurance. Confirm which phases a candidate holds, since P, W and F are credentialed separately. Governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 106, Article 4C. The same state rules apply in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Durham-Chapel Hill, so candidates licensed there can work in Winston-Salem without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Structural Pest Control Division. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Winston-Salem talent.
The closest metro we cover is Greensboro, about 25 miles away, with roughly 340 pest control workers (1.7 times Winston-Salem's 200). Durham-Chapel Hill pays the most nearby, a $46,720 median, 5% above Winston-Salem. That is the number any Winston-Salem offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Charlotte has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | – | 200 | $44,600 |
| Greensboro | 25 mi | 340 | $44,460 |
| Charlotte | 69 mi | 1,270 | $45,250 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 75 mi | 210 | $46,720 |
| Raleigh | 93 mi | 820 | $46,470 |
| Greenville | 149 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Winston-Salem crews.
Not commercial pest control work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Winston-Salem in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Innovation Quarter Phase IIUndisclosed (28 acres, 2.5M+ sq ft planned)Multi-year buildout
Eight new buildings between downtown Winston-Salem and U.S. 52, combining retail, scientific/biotech, healthcare, and residential space.
- Choice Neighborhood Initiative housingUndisclosedConstruction underway
114 new mixed-income housing units revitalizing the Cleveland Avenue neighborhood in the Northeast Ward.
- Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Freischlag Tower~$426M campus expansion (the $619.1M bond issuance also covered refinancing of other system debt, not solely this tower)Opened July 2025
A new care tower on the main Ardmore campus - one of the largest healthcare capital projects in the region's history.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Winston-Salem market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial pest control, and what kills offers in Winston-Salem.
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 Winston-Salem.
What do pest control workers earn in Winston-Salem?
BLS puts the Winston-Salem median for pest control workers at $44,600 a year, about the same as the $45,250 national median. That ranks 61st of 109 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $29,940 and $61,080, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within North Carolina, Durham-Chapel Hill pays more, at $46,720.
Is it hard to hire pest control workers in Winston-Salem?
It is about average. Pest control workers are as common in Winston-Salem as they are nationally (location quotient 1.13), with about 200 in the metro. The 36 pest control companies here average about 7.4 employees per location, mostly small shops, so candidates often know every employer in town by name.
Which commercial pest control roles pay the most in Winston-Salem?
Of the roles we recruit for, Pest Control Branch / Route Manager pays the most in Winston-Salem, a $106,220 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Pest Control Technician at $44,600, 58% below it. Commercial Account Manager trails national pay the most (17% below).
How many pest control companies operate in Winston-Salem?
BLS counted 36 pest control companies in Winston-Salem in 2023, employing about 265 people between them. Down from 37 in 2018, a 3% decline against 16% growth nationally. That averages 7.4 people per location, so most are small shops. They pay an average of $46,357, 15% below the $54,678 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Winston-Salem for pest control workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Greensboro (25 miles, about 340, $44,460 median), Charlotte (69 miles, about 1,270, $45,250 median) and Durham-Chapel Hill (75 miles, about 210, $46,720 median). Greensboro has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
36 pest control companies in Winston-Salem are drawing on the same 200 pest control workers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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