The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for 2023 count 2,620 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor locations with paid employees in Colorado. 1,651 have fewer than five employees. 460 have five to nine. 261 have ten to nineteen. 167 have twenty to forty-nine. 51 have fifty to ninety-nine. About 30 have a hundred or more.
- Fewer than 5 employees: 1,651
- 5 to 9: 460
- 10 to 19: 261
- 20 to 49: 167
- 50 to 99: 51
- 100 or more: about 30
- Fewer than 10, combined: 2,111 of 2,620, 81 percent
Nationally, 58 percent of these locations have fewer than five employees. In Colorado it is 63 percent. The Census counts locations with at least one paid employee, so solo operators are not in these figures, and the real share of very small shops is higher still.
So the shop a Colorado homeowner calls is usually a handful of people, and the owner is probably the one deciding who answers the phone. In a shop that size, the phone is answered by whoever is not under a house, which some hours is nobody.
What ProxMedia does about it: an AI receptionist for HVAC companies and for plumbers, built for the shop where the owner is also the phone.
Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, Colorado state file and US file, NAICS 238220 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors; counted on October 28, 2026.