Service Rate Benchmarks Report

Tiers: All
Report category: Operations Reports
Location: Reports page > Service Rate Benchmarks
Permission required: Can view service rate benchmarks report

The Service Rate Benchmarks report shows how your service rates compare with what other pool service companies charge in the areas you already service. It also lists the service locations you price below the area median, so you can decide where a rate change makes sense.

How benchmarks work

Benchmarks come from the rates set on active service locations in Skimmer, not from surveys or payments collected. Skimmer removes all names and combines the rates before it calculates a benchmark.

• Benchmark updates — On the first of each month, benchmarks are updated and calculated based on the last day of the previous month. For example, on November 1, the new benchmarks are based on Oct 31st service rates. However, when you update your own rates (on the Service Rates page) the table at the bottom of the report isn't updated in real-time. The Your rate column is updated nightly, so any changes you make appear the next day.
• Which locations count — A location needs a rate type and a rate above $0. Locations without a rate type or with a $0 rate aren't included in benchmarks or in your own comparison. To set rates, see Manage Service Rates in Bulk (Web).
• Minimum data — A zip gets its own benchmark only when it has at least 5 pros and 30 service locations, and no single pro has more than 25% of those locations. Otherwise, the report uses the location's metro. If the metro doesn't meet the minimum either, the report uses the location's state. If the state doesn't meet it, the location has no benchmark.
• What a metro is — A metro is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), a government-defined area made up of a city and the communities around it. A metro covers many zip codes, so it often has enough data when a single zip doesn't.

  MSA examples:

  Athens-Clarke County, GA	Jefferson, GA
  Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
  Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
  Cornelia, GA	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT
  Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
  Gainesville, GA	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
  Hays, KS	Waco, TX

• Only your areas — The report covers only the metros and zips where you have active service locations. You can't view benchmarks for other areas.
• Privacy — Other pros never see your company name, your customers, your service locations, or any single location's rate. For each area, the report shows only the median and the typical range. Pro and location counts appear only as ranges.
• Not a price recommendation — The report describes your market. It doesn't account for pool size, extra services, or customer history, so it doesn't tell you what to charge.

When to use this report

• Set rates for new customers — Check the area median and typical range before you quote a new pool.
• Find locations to reprice — Review the locations priced furthest below their area median first.
• Check inherited pricing — Compare rates you took over from a purchased route or a previous owner with today's market.
• Explain a rate to a customer — See where a rate sits in your area's typical range before you talk with the customer.

Report Details

The metrics reflect the metros, zips, rate type, and chemicals option you select in the filters. Hover over the info icon next to a metric to see what it shows.

Note: Monthly opportunity doesn't account for pool size, extra services, or customer history. Some rates below the median may be correct where they are.

How your rates compare to your area (chart)

This chart has two bars that show the typical range of rates, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. The top bar is Your area and the bottom bar is You. Each bar is labeled with its 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile rates, and the dark line inside the bar marks the median.

Below the chart, the report shows how many locations and pros the area rates are based on, the area used, and the date of the area rates. For example, "Based on 2,300–2,399 locations from 125–129 pros in 15 zips. Area rates as of Sep 30, 2026." When your zips don't have enough pros for the selected rate type, the line starts by telling you which metro or state the report uses instead.

The typical range is the middle half of rates. A quarter of rates in the area fall below it, and a quarter fall above it. The report never shows the lowest or highest rates in an area.

If your area doesn't have enough pros or locations at the zip, metro, or state level, the Your area bar is replaced with "Not enough pros in this area to show a benchmark." The line below the chart explains that no benchmark is published for your area yet, and the Area median rate total shows a dash (-). The You bar still displays, so you can see your own typical range.

Filter options

Click Reset to clear all filters and return to the defaults. Click Export PDF to save the report as a PDF.

Locations priced below their area median (table)

By default, the table lists each of your service locations priced below its area median, starting with the locations furthest below. Click All locations to see every location for the selected filters including those priced at or above the area median. Click Below median to return to the default view. Select a customer or service location to open it in Skimmer. Click Export to download the table. If no locations match, the table shows "No locations match these filters."

Each row compares that location with the median for its own zip. When the zip has too few pros, the location is compared with its metro, or with its state when the metro has too few pros.

Locations without a benchmark still appear in the table, with No benchmark in the Compared at column. Below the table, the report shows how many of your locations have no benchmark because their area has too few pros. A note at the bottom of the report summarizes the privacy rules: each benchmark includes at least 5 pros and 30 locations, and no single pro can make up more than 25% of those locations.

The report doesn't change any rates. To update a rate, open the customer's service location and change it there.