National trade hub

General Contractors — verified pros and buyer's guide

Hiring hub for homeowners looking for a general contractor. ProFix is still building verified national coverage for this trade, so the depth below is shown for Ohio — our launch state — as a worked example. Use the when-to-call and how-to-choose guidance everywhere, and confirm local licensing and permits for your own state.

Updated what's new
129 Ohio general contractors ranked47 Ohio metros coveredTrust details shown

Permit counts on this page are Ohio-scoped: they come only from real matched public-record permits — 5,004 permits joined to 554 contractors across 22 county jurisdictions (in Ohio: Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton). No synthetic data is used; coverage of additional counties and states is in progress, and ProFix is honest about that limitation on every leaderboard page. The Ohio TL;DR, pricing, and FAQ below are written for Ohio homeowners as a worked example — confirm your own state's licensing and permit rules before you hire.

National directory

General Contractors — National Directory (0 verified pros across 0 states)

What they do

Licensed general contractor — additions, remodels, multi-trade renovation, project management.

When to call

  • Whole-home or multi-room remodel coordinating multiple trades.
  • Addition, second-story, or accessory-dwelling-unit build.
  • Kitchen or bath full remodel with permit-and-inspection scope.
  • Insurance-loss rebuild after fire, water, or storm event.
  • Project management for owner-supplied materials or custom design.

Typical cost range (national)

Across 28 state cost guides, general contractor jobs typically run $5.5K$95K with a national median around $30K. Small service calls anchor the low end; replacements and full installs anchor the high end.

License expectations

Licensing varies by state. ProFix has published per-state licensing guides for 28 states covering this trade — see the linked state pages below for the exact board, license number format, and verification URL.

Top states by pro count

No states with verified general contractors yet. Coverage expands as more license rosters are ingested.

Emergency / 24-hour availability

Emergency-availability data is still being aggregated for general contractors. Call the state board or the pro directly to confirm 24-hour service before relying on it.

What general contractors earn (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Workers in the Residential Building Construction industry (NAICS 2361) earned an average of $75K/year (about $1.4K/week), across roughly 197,138 establishments nationwide employing about 813,526 people.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 2024 — average industry wage, not a price to hire. This is what people employed in the trade are paid, not what a homeowner pays for a job (for typical project cost, see the cost guides above and the per-state cost pages).

Deepest coverage example

Ohio worked example: General Contractors in Ohio

Ohio is our launch state, so it's the one place where we can show the full depth — a ranked Ohio pro list, a public-permit leaderboard, state-licensing detail, and real Ohio cost guides. Treat everything in this section as an Ohio example of how ProFix verifies a trade, not as a national claim. We're building this same depth out state by state.

Hiring checks for Ohio general contractors

  • Ohio does not have a statewide GC license; verify municipal contractor registration with the Toledo, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, or Dayton building department before signing.
  • Confirm $1M general liability and workers' comp coverage and request a sample contract before committing — change-order rules and payment milestones live in the contract, not the proposal.
  • Never sign an Assignment of Benefits for an insurance claim; use a standard contract and require lien waivers from every subcontractor at every payment milestone.
  • Pay by milestone (not by percentage of the calendar) and hold at least 10% retention until the final municipal inspection passes.

Top 10 verified general contractor contractors in Ohio

Our Ohio launch-state pros, sorted by ProFix Trust Score, which weighs verification tier, license evidence, permit-pull signals, and recency. Trust Score is not paid placement — read the methodology before hiring. For another state, use “Browse general contractors by state” above.

  1. 1. DIEBOLD NIXDORF INCNorth Canton, OH5
  2. 2. INFRASOURCE CONSTRUCTION LLCColumbus, OH5
  3. 3. MASSANA CONSTRUCTION INCWorthington, OH5
  4. 4. 5 HILL HOMES LLCDayton, OH0
  5. 5. ADVANCE SIGN GROUP LLCColumbus, OH0
  6. 6. AEROSEAL LLCMiamisburg, OH0
  7. 7. ALSIDE SUPPLY CENTERCuyahoga Falls, OH0
  8. 8. ASCH LLCColumbus, OH0
  9. 9. AUSTIN BUILDING AND DESIGN INCCleveland, OH0
  10. 10. AUSTIN POWDER COMPANYCleveland, OH0

Permit-pull leaderboard

ProFix ranks Ohio general contractors by the number of public building permits pulled in the last 365 days. This is a proof-of-work trust signal that no other directory exposes. Sourced from Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton County permit data — real public-record permits only, with coverage of additional counties in progress.

The statewide leaderboard aggregates Lucas, Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton county permit pulls into one ranked board. Per-county leaderboards live at /permits-leaderboard.

Buyer's guide

The ProFix Editorial Team published a long-form Ohio buyer's guide for this trade. It covers the full hiring process — license check, written scope, permit responsibility, payment schedule, change-order rules, warranty terms, and red flags.

How to choose a flooring contractor in OhioHow to vet a flooring installer in Ohio: NWFA and CRI installer credentials, subfloor moisture and prep, manufacturer warranty terms, a written scope, and red flags. Flooring isn't state-licensed in Ohio, so verify credentials, insurance, and references instead.

What's licensed in Ohio for this trade

Not state-licensed in OhioTrust details shown

Ohio does not state-license general contractors, but most cities (Toledo, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton) require local contractor registration with the building department. Substitute trust signals are workers' comp, $1M general liability, written contracts with milestone payment schedules, lien waivers for every subcontractor, and refusal to sign Assignment of Benefits forms with insurance.

Pricing in Ohio

ProFix has not yet published cost guides for general contractors. Job pricing for this trade varies widely by scope; collect three written quotes and compare line-by-line rather than by bottom total. The full ProFix cost-guide library covers the related trades that share scope.

Related ProFix research

Original ProFix research articles that name this trade in their keyword set. Citable under CC-BY-4.0 with attribution to ProFix Directory.

AI-agent endpoints

ProFix exposes machine-readable endpoints for AI agents, journalists, and partner integrations. These three feeds are scoped to this trade and are CC-BY-4.0 with 1-hour cache.

Frequently asked: Ohio general contractors

Are general contractors licensed in Ohio?

Ohio does not have a statewide GC license, but most cities (Toledo, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton) require local contractor registration. Verify the registration with the municipal building department before signing.

Should I sign an Assignment of Benefits for an insurance claim?

No. AOB forms hand control of your insurance claim to the contractor and have produced repeated complaints to the Ohio Attorney General. Use a standard contract with clear scope, milestone payments, and lien waivers for every subcontractor.

How should I pay a general contractor?

By milestone (not by calendar percentage). Hold at least 10% retention until the final municipal inspection passes and require a signed lien waiver from each subcontractor at every payment.

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Related

Primary metro

Compare ProFix-verified general contractors mapped to the strongest metro for this trade.

/metro/columbus

Statewide coverage

Coverage map and county-level pro counts across all 88 Ohio counties.

/coverage

Trust Score explainer

Long-form, homeowner-friendly walkthrough of the 0-100 ProFix Trust Score.

/trust-score
Emergency