A healthy general contractor net profit margin runs about 8% to 15%, with gross margins of 15% to 25% on larger projects. Net is what's left after overhead; gross is the markup on a single job. Most GCs who feel like they "made nothing this year" lost it in one place: confusing markup with margin and underbidding without knowing it.
We build websites and SEO for contractors, and we run our own service companies, so we see both the marketing and the money side. Here's the math that protects your bottom line and where it usually leaks.
These are not the same number, and the gap is where profit disappears.
A $100,000 job at 20% markup bills $120,000. Easy to calculate, easy to misread as your margin.
On that $120,000 job, the $20,000 profit is only a 16.7% margin, not 20%. To actually keep 25%, you need a markup closer to 33%.
15% margin ≈ 18% markup · 20% margin = 25% markup · 25% margin ≈ 33% markup · 30% margin ≈ 43% markup. Bid in markup, judge yourself in margin.
You can't cost-cut your way to a good margin past a point — the bigger lever is being able to say no to bad jobs. That only works when you have enough qualified leads to be selective. A steady pipeline lets you hold your markup instead of dropping it to fill the schedule. That's the real connection between getting found and getting paid.
But be honest with yourself first: if your problem is bidding, not lead volume, fix the bidding. More leads won't save a business that underprices every job. Get the markup-to-margin math right, then turn up the demand.
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We build the site and run the SEO that fills your pipeline so you can hold your margin. AI lead capture with a site is $249/mo; the $597/mo plan adds the SEO content engine and lead attribution. Month-to-month, and you own everything.
See SEO for contractors, general contractor website design, the related contractor profit margin guide, or what general contractors charge.
About 8% to 15% after overhead. Below that, check your markup-to-margin math and whether overhead is built into bids.
Bid from accurate costs with the right markup, control change orders in writing, cut rework, and win more high-margin jobs. Lead flow lets you be selective.
Usually low real margin, overhead not in bids, or change orders and rework eating jobs. Track gross margin per job, not just revenue.
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