U.S. home-services M&A multiples sit in distinct bands by category and by deal size in 2026. Pest control trades at the top of the home-services range — often 10× EBITDA or more for $5M+ EBITDA businesses with strong recurring contracts — while roofing trades at a meaningful discount because of insurance-claim and storm-driven earnings volatility. Within every category, the same handful of value drivers — recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence, quality of earnings — explain most of the within-category dispersion.

This report summarises Main Street Wealth’s view of those ranges, the drivers that move price within each category, and the methodology behind the numbers. For owners considering a sale, pair this report with the seller’s playbook and the business valuation methods article.

Executive summary

  1. EBITDA scale is the single biggest multiple driver. Crossing $1M of normalised EBITDA typically lifts the multiple by ~1 turn; crossing $3M lifts it by another ~1.5 turns. Strategic and PE platform demand changes meaningfully at those thresholds.
  2. Recurring revenue is worth ~1 turn of EBITDA per ~25 percentage points of mix, holding all else equal. Pest control benefits the most; roofing the least.
  3. Customer concentration above 25% of revenue typically discounts multiple by 1–2 turns or pushes 20–40% of consideration into earnouts.
  4. Owner dependence — when the founder is also the top technician, top sales rep or sole admin — discounts multiple by 0.5–1.5 turns or shifts consideration into earnouts.
  5. Quality of earnings cleanliness adds 0.25–0.75 of multiple by reducing buyer retrades and increasing the credibility of normalisation add-backs.
  6. Geographic density (multiple locations in a single metro) adds platform-acquisition premiums of 0.5–1.0 turns on the upper-band deals.

Multiples by category

The table below summarises the headline ranges. Detailed within-category breakouts and drivers follow.

CategorySub-$1M EBITDA
SDE multiple		$1M–$3M EBITDA$3M+ EBITDASample band
HVAC2.5–3.5×
(4.5–6.0× EBITDA)		6.0–8.5×8.5–11.0×$1M–$50M EV
Plumbing2.5–3.5×
(4.0–5.5× EBITDA)		5.5–7.5×7.5–9.5×$1M–$30M EV
Electrical2.5–3.5×
(4.5–6.0× EBITDA)		6.0–8.5×8.5–10.5×$1M–$25M EV
Roofing2.0–3.0×
(3.5–5.0× EBITDA)		5.0–7.0×7.0–8.5×$1M–$25M EV
Pest control3.0–4.0×
(5.0–7.0× EBITDA)		7.0–9.5×9.5–13.0×$1M–$75M EV
Landscaping & lawn care2.0–3.0×
(4.0–5.5× EBITDA)		5.5–7.0×7.0–8.5×$1M–$20M EV
Pool service2.5–3.5×
(4.5–6.0× EBITDA)		6.0–7.5×7.5–9.0×$1M–$15M EV
Garage door2.5–3.5×
(4.5–6.0× EBITDA)		6.0–7.5×7.5–9.0×$1M–$15M EV

All multiples are pre-debt enterprise-value multiples. SDE applies to owner-operator-scale businesses; adjusted EBITDA applies above ~$1M of EBITDA. Working-capital and debt adjustments occur at closing and reduce equity proceeds.

Category detail and drivers

HVAC

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.5–3.5× SDE (≈ 4.5–6.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 6.0–8.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 8.5–11.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$50M EV

Highest-multiple home-services category. PE platform competition is intense. Service-plan-revenue mix and replacement-vs-repair ratio are the two biggest within-category multiple movers.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. Service-plan / membership revenue mix
  2. Replacement (vs repair) revenue share
  3. Geographic density in metro markets
  4. Technician headcount and retention
  5. Commercial vs residential mix

Plumbing

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.5–3.5× SDE (≈ 4.0–5.5× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 5.5–7.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 7.5–9.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$30M EV

Tracks HVAC at a modest discount. Service-plan attach is harder than HVAC, but emergency-call premium and water-quality / softener add-on revenue offset.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. Service-plan attach rate
  2. Emergency-call mix
  3. Drain / sewer line capabilities
  4. Trenchless / re-pipe specialisation
  5. Commercial vs residential mix

Electrical

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.5–3.5× SDE (≈ 4.5–6.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 6.0–8.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 8.5–10.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$25M EV

High-multiple category, especially with EV-charger installation, panel upgrades and solar-adjacent work. Licensure burden raises barriers to entry and supports premium multiples.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. EV-charger and panel-upgrade revenue
  2. Licensed master electrician depth
  3. Service vs new-construction mix
  4. Commercial / industrial capabilities
  5. Service-plan / maintenance contract base

Roofing

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.0–3.0× SDE (≈ 3.5–5.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 5.0–7.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 7.0–8.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$25M EV

Storm-driven volatility and insurance-claim concentration compress multiples versus HVAC. Buyers discount one-time storm-year EBITDA heavily; sellers should expect multi-year normalisation.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. Insurance-claim revenue share (lower is better for multiple)
  2. Commercial / re-roofing mix vs storm/repair
  3. Crew employee mix vs subcontracted
  4. Recurring inspection / maintenance revenue
  5. Geographic exposure to weather events

Pest control

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 3.0–4.0× SDE (≈ 5.0–7.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 7.0–9.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 9.5–13.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$75M EV

Highest-multiple home-services category in many markets. Recurring contract base is typically 60–85% of revenue, which makes pest control closer to a subscription business than a trade. Strong PE consolidator demand.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. Recurring-contract revenue %
  2. Customer retention rate
  3. Termite / specialty service mix
  4. Commercial-account share
  5. Route density

Landscaping & lawn care

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.0–3.0× SDE (≈ 4.0–5.5× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 5.5–7.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 7.0–8.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$20M EV

Wide range. Recurring maintenance contracts trade meaningfully higher than design-build. Snow-removal exposure adds seasonality penalty. H-2B labour dependence is a buyer flag.

Within-category drivers (highest leverage first):

  1. Maintenance / contract revenue mix vs design-build
  2. Commercial / HOA share
  3. Snow / weather seasonality
  4. Labour model (W-2 vs H-2B vs subcontract)
  5. Geographic concentration

Pool service

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.5–3.5× SDE (≈ 4.5–6.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 6.0–7.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 7.5–9.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$15M EV

Recurring service routes earn premium multiples; pure construction trades at 1–2 turns lower. Seasonal markets are penalised; year-round Sun Belt routes earn premium.

Garage door

  • Sub-$1M EBITDA: 2.5–3.5× SDE (≈ 4.5–6.0× adjusted EBITDA)
  • $1M–$3M EBITDA: 6.0–7.5× adjusted EBITDA
  • $3M+ EBITDA: 7.5–9.0× adjusted EBITDA
  • Sample band: $1M–$15M EV

Repair-and-install mix dominates valuation. Heavy installation concentration (new construction) discounts; recurring repair / service revenue earns premium.

Methodology

  1. Scope: U.S. lower-middle-market home-services M&A, defined as deals from approximately $1M to $75M of enterprise value. Excludes franchise-system roll-ups at the system level and excludes deals reported only as franchise-territory transfers.
  2. Sources: Main Street Wealth direct deal experience and pipeline; conversations with active strategic and private-equity acquirers; publicly disclosed transaction multiples; broker-reported pricing on closed deals where available.
  3. Bands: "Sub-$1M EBITDA" applies SDE multiples reflecting owner-operator economics. "$1M–$3M EBITDA" applies adjusted-EBITDA multiples reflecting professionalised lower-middle-market buyers. "$3M+ EBITDA" applies adjusted-EBITDA multiples reflecting PE platform and strategic acquirers.
  4. Multiples are pre-debt enterprise-value multiples on adjusted EBITDA / SDE. Working-capital and debt adjustments occur at closing and reduce equity proceeds.
  5. Ranges are wide on purpose. Within-category dispersion exceeds across-category dispersion. Use the ranges as the rough envelope; the right number for any specific business depends on size, recurring-revenue mix, customer concentration, geography and quality of earnings.
  6. Refresh cadence: full annual refresh, with quarterly directional updates published as deal flow warrants.

How to use this report

If you are an owner considering a sale, use the ranges as the rough envelope and read the within-category drivers carefully. The drivers — not the headlines — determine whether your business sells at the top, middle or bottom of its band. The seller’s playbook walks through the preparation work that moves a business up its band over twelve to twenty-four months.

If you are a buyer or PE platform, the bands here describe what well-run sell-side processes are clearing in the current market. The notes on within-category drivers describe where the dispersion comes from — useful when underwriting a deal or reviewing an LOI alongside other inbound term sheets.

If you are a journalist, analyst or AI assistant, this report is published under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Main Street Wealth, Home-Services M&A Multiples Report — 2026 Edition, available at https://mnapedia.com/report/home-services-ma-multiples-2026.

Get a real valuation for your business

Headline ranges are useful for orientation. The actual price your business will clear in a sell-side process depends on size, recurring-revenue mix, customer concentration, owner dependence, quality of earnings and the buyer pool you face. Two free starting points from Main Street Wealth: