Eight hours of labor, with the job held constant
- Columbus, OH1,041.84
- 50-metro median reference1,180.92
- San Francisco, CA1,566.16
Finding 01
A city can move the bill without changing the broken part
Hold a repair at eight labor hours. At Columbus's modeled independent-shop midpoint of $130.23 per hour, labor comes to $1,041.84. At San Francisco's $195.77, it comes to $1,566.16. The difference is 50.3%, before either shop orders a part.
That is a controlled calculation inside our existing cost model, not a survey of invoices. We chose eight hours to make the geographic effect easy to inspect. It does not describe the typical duration of a repair or estimate a particular failed component.
An identical contract price can face different local repair costs. But a larger bill does not automatically produce a larger reimbursement. The contract may limit the hourly labor rate, approved hours, parts allowance or total claim payment. The expensive city does not automatically make the warranty the better purchase.
Finding 02
The midpoint is a reference, not the national price
The unweighted median across 50 metros is $147.62 per hour when displayed to cents. Multiplying the unrounded median by eight gives $1,180.92. Each metro gets one vote; we do not weight by population, vehicles registered or repair-shop volume.
A smaller-city reader should not substitute the nearest major metro for a written shop estimate. Even within a metro, specialist equipment, overhead, technician expertise and repair procedure can change the actual bill. The model answers a narrower question: what changes when only the hourly input changes?
Dealer rates in this database follow a fixed markup assumption. Their consistent relationship to independent rates is not evidence of a newly discovered nationwide dealer premium. We exclude that comparison from the headline finding.
Finding 03
Use the gap to ask a better contract question
Ask for the maximum reimbursable labor rate and how approved labor time is determined. If the contract allows less than your shop charges, calculate that difference before treating a covered repair as paid in full. A deductible is not necessarily the only out-of-pocket expense.
Then obtain the full contract price. Monthly payments hide the comparison you need: total price plus applicable deductibles versus the eligible part of a possible future repair. Our calculator shows a single-claim threshold without assigning a probability that the repair will happen.
A repair reserve remains a valid outcome. No covered claim means the contract price is an added cost, while unspent reserve money remains yours. This experiment isolates geography; it does not resolve your risk tolerance, repair likelihood or whether a particular plan is fairly priced.
Reproduce the result
Method, sample and exclusions
- Sort all included metros by modeled independent-shop midpoint, keeping ties in source order.
- Multiply each midpoint by eight. Exclude parts, diagnostics outside those hours, taxes, fees and model-specific calibration.
- Average the two central rates for the median. Round only final currency amounts, not intermediate arithmetic.
- Inputs are confidence-C modeling assumptions. This is reproducible scenario analysis, not new shop-price collection.
What this does not establish
- The metro sample is not nationally representative.
- No failure rate, contract coverage or expected saving is inferred.
- Vehicle-specific repair estimates use additional calibration, deliberately excluded here.
The download has 50 data rows plus a header, generated from the same inputs as this page. Dates and units appear in the column names or source ledger. Blank fields mean unavailable.
CSV column definitions
metrostateslugmodeled_independent_hourly_mid_usdfixed_labor_hoursmodeled_labor_only_usdevidence_type
Configuration counts measure matched source rows, not unique trims or VINs. Issue counts measure sitemap routes, not independent failures.
Sources and correction record
- Labor inputs and confidence definitions · source or review date 2026-09-04
Version 1, published 2026-09-04. No corrections recorded. To challenge a figure, email me@autowarranty.autos with the row, page and supporting source.
Our calculations and explanatory charts may be cited with a link to this report. Underlying data retains its source terms. Download availability is not a grant of third-party content rights.