Holiday Light Installation Income Calculator for 2026
Project per-job and full-season income for a holiday light installation side hustle, factoring in linear footage, takedown fees, and whether you supply or rent the lights.
How Holiday Light Installation Income Is Calculated
Install revenue per job is either the linear footage times your per-foot rate, or a flat per-job rate. A separate takedown fee — typically a percentage of the install price — is added for the January removal visit. Multiplying combined per-job revenue by jobs booked for the season gives gross revenue, from which light/supply costs per job and seasonal insurance and equipment costs are subtracted to find net season profit.
If you run the light-rental model (you own and store commercial-grade lights and re-use them every season), the per-job supply cost is just amortized wear, cleaning, and replacement-bulb cost rather than the full retail price of lights, since the same inventory services many seasons. If customers own their own lights, set the supply cost to $0 since you're billing labor only.
How to Use the Holiday Light Installation Income Calculator
Choose your pricing model
Select per-linear-foot pricing (priced off the home's rooflines and features) or a flat rate per job (common for small to mid-size homes).
Enter your rate and footage, or flat rate
For per-foot pricing, set the average linear footage per home and your rate per foot. For flat pricing, enter your typical flat job price.
Set your takedown fee percentage
Enter what you charge for the January takedown visit as a percentage of the install price — most installers discount it below the install rate.
Enter jobs per season and supply costs
Set how many installs you expect to book this season, plus your per-job light/supply cost (rental inventory wear, clips, or $0 if customers supply their own lights) and seasonal insurance/ladder/equipment costs.
Review your season profit
See revenue per job, total season gross revenue, total costs, and net season profit after takedown income and expenses.
Real-World Scenario Example
"An installer charges $5.00 per linear foot for an average 300-foot roofline, with takedown billed at 50% of the install price, books 40 jobs for the season, spends $80 per job on rental light wear/supplies, and pays $600 for insurance and ladder equipment for the season."
Inputs
Result
Revenue per job of $2,250 (install plus takedown), total season gross revenue of $90,000, and net season profit of about $86,200 after supply costs and insurance/equipment expenses.
Important Disclaimer
Pricing and income estimates are general guidance based on publicly available industry pricing guides and do not account for local market rates, home size and complexity, regional labor costs, insurance premiums, or seasonal weather and booking variability specific to your business. Verify current local pricing and licensing/insurance requirements before setting your own rates.
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Sources & References
Jobber — How to Start a Christmas Light Business and Earn $8K/Month
https://www.getjobber.com/academy/holiday-lighting/how-to-start-christmas-light-business/
OneNeighbor — Christmas Light Installation: Installer Pricing Guide
https://www.oneneighbor.com/vendors/christmas-light-installation-installer-pricing-guide
Angi — How Much Does Professional Christmas Light Installation Cost? (2026 Data)
https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-christmas-light-installation-cost.htm