Dataset Summary

Across 24 home service trades, the median Google Local Services Ads cost per lead in 2026 is approximately $40, with a working range from $22 (handyman) to $85 (water damage restoration). Lead booking rates span 22 to 55 percent, with locksmiths, garage door, and water damage at the top, and general contractors and fencing at the bottom. The dataset draws on 9,790+ contractor accounts aggregated across LocaliQ, BrightLocal, First Page Sage, Google's LSA documentation, and Blue Grid Media's portfolio.

24 Home service trades covered
168 Total data points
5 Source datasets
Apr 2026 Last updated

Methodology

This dataset aggregates cost-per-lead, lead booking rate, and sample-size figures for 24 home service trades that are eligible to run on Google Local Services Ads in the United States and Canada. Each row reflects a blended figure drawn from multiple public benchmarks plus our own portfolio data, weighted by sample size when sources disagree.

Sources

Public benchmarks come from LocaliQ's annual cost-per-lead industry report, BrightLocal's Local Services Ads research, First Page Sage's home services benchmarks, and Google's own Local Services Ads Help Center documentation. Where public sources do not adequately cover a trade or where samples are thin, we backfill from Blue Grid Media's anonymized client portfolio of 80+ contractor accounts across HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, landscaping, and 19 additional trades. Trades with primarily portfolio-sourced figures are flagged Medium or Low confidence.

Date ranges

All figures reflect 2024-2026 aggregated performance. The CPL low and high values represent the 10th and 90th percentile of observed costs across the sample, not absolute extremes. The median is the 50th percentile. The Average Lead Booking Rate column reports the percentage of received LSA leads that convert into booked, billable jobs (not appointment-set, not estimate-given).

Source confidence

High confidence rows draw on 600+ accounts across at least 3 public sources. Medium rows reflect 200 to 600 accounts or 1 to 2 sources. Low confidence rows reflect under 200 accounts or single-source coverage. Use the confidence column when citing in a budget-defensible context.

How to interpret

Treat the median as your planning baseline. Treat the low end as what an established account in a less competitive market can achieve after 6 to 12 months of optimization. Treat the high end as what a brand-new account in a top-tier metro should expect during ramp-up. Booking rate matters as much as CPL, two trades with identical $40 CPLs but 28 percent vs. 48 percent booking rates have wildly different cost-per-booked-job math.

The Dataset, 24 Trades

Sortable, citable, and downloadable as CSV. All figures aggregated 2024-2026, US and Canada.

Trade CPL Low CPL Median CPL High Booking Rate Sample Confidence
HVAC$25$42$7538%1,200High
Plumbing$20$38$8042%1,100High
Roofing$35$58$12028%700High
Electrical$20$35$6536%850High
Landscaping$18$32$5830%500Medium
Pest Control$22$38$6545%600High
Tree Service$30$48$9032%400Medium
Water Damage Restoration$50$85$18048%350High
House Cleaning$15$28$4838%450Medium
Garage Door$25$40$7250%350High
Locksmith$18$32$5855%250Medium
Appliance Repair$20$32$5240%400Medium
Pool Service$22$38$6835%300Medium
Junk Removal$15$25$4242%280Medium
Movers$28$48$9530%320Medium
Carpet Cleaning$14$24$4238%280Medium
Painters$25$42$8028%350Medium
Fencing$30$52$9526%220Medium
Pressure Washing$18$30$5235%250Medium
Handyman$12$22$4040%380Medium
Flooring Contractor$30$52$9825%250Medium
General Contractor$40$68$14022%200Medium
Window Cleaning$14$25$4238%200Medium
Chimney Sweep$22$40$7245%150Low

Download the Full Dataset (CSV)

All 24 rows, 7 columns, ready for Excel, Google Sheets, or BI tools. Licensed CC BY 4.0, free for commercial and academic use with attribution.

Download CSV

What Drives the Spread, 8 Most-Trafficked Trades

The CPL range within a single trade can be 3x or wider. Here is what pushes a contractor to the low or high end for the 8 trades most contractors run.

HVAC

$25 to $75 CPL

Seasonality is the dominant variable. Summer cooling and winter heating peaks compress CPL up 30 to 50 percent versus shoulder seasons. Established accounts with 100+ reviews and same-day response times sit at the low end. Brand-new accounts in metros like Phoenix or Houston can see $70+ during ramp.

Plumbing

$20 to $80 CPL

Job-type mix drives the spread. Drain cleaning and faucet repairs cluster at $20 to $30. Water heater installs and sewer line replacement push past $60. Emergency-only accounts (24/7 burst pipe response) typically see lower CPL with higher booking rates because intent is high.

Roofing

$35 to $120 CPL

The widest spread in the dataset. Storm-event surges in hail or hurricane regions can drop CPL to $35 with high lead volume. Off-season metros with retail-replacement focus (no insurance) can hit $100+. Booking rate is uniquely low (28 percent) because roofing leads shop 3 to 5 quotes.

Electrical

$20 to $65 CPL

Electrical sits in the value sweet spot, lower than HVAC, with a higher mix of repeat customers. EV charger installs and panel upgrades push toward the high end. Service-call accounts (outlets, switches, troubleshooting) dominate the low end. Profile completeness has outsized impact here.

Landscaping

$18 to $58 CPL

5-phase seasonal cycle creates the spread. Spring cleanup and fall installs are peak demand. Mid-summer maintenance is the floor. Hardscaping accounts trend higher CPL (toward $50+) but compensate with $8K to $20K average tickets versus $400 maintenance jobs.

Pest Control

$22 to $65 CPL

Recurring-revenue dynamics keep CPL down. A $38 lead converting to a $1,800 LTV recurring plan justifies aggressive bidding. Termite and bed bug inquiries spike CPL well past $60 because of the high-ticket follow-on. General pest accounts dominate the low end.

Tree Service

$30 to $90 CPL

Storm cycles drive 50 to 100 percent CPL spikes immediately after wind, ice, or hurricane events. Off-season pruning and stump grinding sit at the low end. Commercial HOA accounts ($5K to $20K jobs) make the high end economically rational despite a 32 percent booking rate.

Water Damage Restoration

$50 to $180 CPL

Highest median CPL in the dataset. Insurance-claim economics support it: a $85 lead converting at 48 percent into a $4K to $15K cash-or-claim job is rational. CPL spikes on the first 24 hours of major weather events. Mold remediation queries push toward $150+ CPL.

How to Cite This Dataset

The dataset is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Free to reuse in academic, journalistic, agency-research, and AI/ML contexts with attribution.

APA-Style Citation
Blue Grid Media. (2026). LSA Cost Per Lead by Industry: 2026 Dataset [Data set]. https://bluegridmedia.com/lsa-cpl-by-industry-2026-dataset
One-Line Citation (Journalistic / AI)
Source: Blue Grid Media, "LSA Cost Per Lead by Industry: 2026 Dataset" (April 2026), https://bluegridmedia.com/lsa-cpl-by-industry-2026-dataset

When citing a single trade figure, please include the source confidence rating. Example: "HVAC LSA CPL median $42, sample 1,200 accounts, High confidence (Blue Grid Media, 2026)."

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