Missed call statistics 2026
49 statistics on how often service businesses miss calls, what those callers do next, and what it costs. Every number links to its original source.
Last updated September 30, 2026. We review every figure each quarter.
How many calls go unanswered
Home services businesses miss 14% of inbound calls.
Legal businesses miss 28% of inbound calls.
Healthcare practices miss 32% of inbound calls, the highest rate of the industries CallRail benchmarked.
Real estate businesses miss 9% of inbound calls.
27% of calls to home services businesses are not answered.
Source: Invoca, See How Much Missed Sales Calls Cost Home Services Businesses (2024)
Across all industries, an average of 26% of calls from potential customers go unanswered (aggregate 2021 Invoca customer data).
Source: Invoca, Press release: new solution to recover revenue from missed calls (2021)
In a 30-day study of 85 small businesses across 58 industries, 62% of calls were not answered by a person: 38% went to voicemail and 24% got no response at all.
Source: 411 Locals, Small Business Owners Don't Answer 62% of Phone Calls (2016)
In a secret-shopper test of 500 US law firms, only 40% answered a prospective client’s call, and 48% could not be reached by phone at all.
Source: Clio, Legal Trends Report (2024)
Up to 21% of calls to automotive service locations go unanswered, dropped, or mishandled (multi-location operator data).
Source: Marchex, Up to 21 percent of automotive service customer calls go unanswered (undated)
What callers do when nobody answers
82% of US consumers say they will call a competitor if a business doesn’t answer.
21% of US consumers immediately call another business when their call goes unanswered.
78% of US consumers say they have abandoned a business after an unanswered call.
42% of US consumers say they leave a voicemail when a business doesn’t answer (self-reported).
Fewer than 3% of callers sent to voicemail actually leave a message (observed in call data, home services).
Source: Invoca, See How Much Missed Sales Calls Cost Home Services Businesses (2024)
How many answered calls become booked jobs
The typical trade business on ServiceTitan booked 42% of its calls.
Source: ServiceTitan, Average Call Booking Rates, June 2022 data from 3,000+ businesses (2022)
Trade businesses with fewer than 5 technicians booked 24% of calls, against 59% for businesses with 25 or more.
Source: ServiceTitan, Average Call Booking Rates, June 2022 data from 3,000+ businesses (2022)
At trade businesses with 25+ technicians, booking rates fall from a 61% daytime peak to 21% after 6 p.m.
Source: ServiceTitan, Average Call Booking Rates, June 2022 data from 3,000+ businesses (2022)
At trade businesses with fewer than 5 technicians, booking rates fall from 26% at peak to 9% after 6 p.m.
Source: ServiceTitan, Average Call Booking Rates, June 2022 data from 3,000+ businesses (2022)
According to ServiceTitan, high-booking shops ask callers at least five questions on every call.
Source: ServiceTitan, Back 2 Basics: Call Experience That Performs (2024)
According to ServiceTitan, booked calls are twice as interactive as calls that don’t book.
Source: ServiceTitan, Back 2 Basics: Call Experience That Performs (2024)
42% of phone leads across all industries buy during the call itself; in home services it is 45% (70M+ calls).
Source: Invoca, Call conversion benchmarks, 70M calls (2026)
Depending on industry, 22% to 46% of phone leads bought on the call; home services was highest at 46% (60M+ calls, 9 industries).
Source: Invoca, Call Conversion Benchmarks Report 2025 (2025)
When calls come in, and what callers expect
47% of calls handled by one US answering service came outside Monday to Friday working hours (5.9M call minutes, April to June 2026; answering services receive after-hours overflow by design).
Source: AnswerConnect, Data reveals 47% of business calls occur after hours (2026)
74% of consumers say AI has made them expect customer service to be available 24/7 (6,182 consumers, 22 countries).
Source: Zendesk, CX Trends 2026 (2025)
77% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company (14,300 respondents, 25 countries).
Source: Salesforce, State of the Connected Customer, 6th edition (2023)
Speed to lead
Web leads called within 5 minutes were 21 times more likely to qualify, and 100 times more likely to be reached, than leads called at 30 minutes (15,000+ leads, 6 companies).
Source: InsideSales.com and MIT, Lead Response Management Study (2007)
Sales teams that called a new web lead within one minute saw a 391% lift in lead conversion (about 3.5 million leads).
Source: Velocify, The Ultimate Contact Strategy (summary via National Law Review) (2013)
Why the phone still matters
60% of homeowners prefer that roofing contractors contact them by phone; email is second at 26%.
40% of home services consumers who call a business from search go on to make a purchase (Google data, as cited by Invoca).
Source: Invoca, 40+ Statistics Home Services Marketers Need to Know in 2025 (2025)
Phone calls produce 10 to 15 times more revenue than web leads (BIA/Kelsey estimate from the mid-2010s, as cited by Invoca).
Source: Invoca, 40+ Statistics Home Services Marketers Need to Know in 2025 (2025)
74% of residential contractors see AI as a way to run more efficiently, but only about 25% use it today (survey of 1,000 contractors).
Source: ServiceTitan, 2026 Residential State of the Trades Report (2026)
Ansa analysis: what one missed call is worth, by trade
No study has measured the average cost of a missed call, so we calculated it from published inputs: booking rate × close rate (for jobs that start with an estimate) × average ticket. Values are revenue, not profit, and apply to a missed call from a caller with a job to book: ServiceTitan counts booking rate on lead calls, not every call. Low ends use consumer cost guides; high ends use contractor platform data, which runs higher.
Roofing, re-roof: a missed call is worth about $1,200 to $3,100 (42% booking × 30% close × $9,609 to $24,354 ticket). At a 50% close rate: $2,000 to $5,100.
Source: Angi, How Much Does Roof Replacement Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, Cost of a Residential Roof Replacement (median $24,354) (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022) · JobNimbus, 12 Roofing KPIs (30-50% close rate guidance) (2026)
Roofing, repair: up to about $490 per missed call (42% booking × $1,174 average repair, before any quote is lost).
Source: Angi, How Much Does Roof Repair Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
HVAC, system replacement: about $1,280 to $2,910 per missed call (38% HVAC booking × 45% close × $7,500 to $17,040 ticket).
Source: Angi, How Much Does HVAC Replacement Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, Residential HVAC installation cost (2025 average $17,040) (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022) · ACCA and Farmington Consulting Group via ACHR News, Contractor of the Future study (45% residential close rate) (2026)
HVAC, repair: about $130 to $460 per missed call (38% HVAC booking × $350 to $1,205 repair ticket).
Source: Angi, HVAC Repairs Cost (2026) · Housecall Pro, 2026 HVAC Industry Trends (average repair $1,205) (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Remodeling, kitchen: about $5,100 to $8,100 per missed call (42% booking × 35% close × $35,000 to $55,000 median project).
Source: Houzz, 2025 U.S. Houzz & Home Renovation Trends (2025) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022) · Remodeling / Remodelers Advantage, Check Your Vitals: Remodeling Benchmarks (35% close ratio) (2013)
Remodeling, primary bath: about $2,500 to $3,700 per missed call (42% booking × 35% close × $17,000 to $25,000 median project).
Source: Houzz, 2025 U.S. Houzz & Home Renovation Trends (2025) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022) · Remodeling / Remodelers Advantage, Check Your Vitals: Remodeling Benchmarks (35% close ratio) (2013)
Plumbing, repair: about $147 per missed call (43% plumbing booking × $341 average repair).
Source: Angi, How Much Does Plumbing Repair Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Electrical, service call: about $144 per missed call (41% electrical booking × $351 average job).
Source: Angi, How Much Does An Electrician Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Garage doors, repair: about $82 per missed call (31% garage door booking × $265 average repair).
Source: Angi, How Much Do Garage Door Repairs Cost? (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Pest control, one-time service: about $72 per missed call (42% booking × $172 average), before any recurring plan.
Source: Angi, Pest Control Cost (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Locksmith, lockout or rekey: about $45 to $100 per missed call (42% booking × $107 to $242 typical job).
Source: Angi, How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Locksmith? (2026) · ServiceTitan, booking rate (2022)
Other published missed-call models
Scenario models from answering-service providers, built on the same missed calls × booking rate × job value logic.
At 30 missed calls a month, a $350 average job and a 20% to 30% booking rate, lost revenue models out to $25,200 to $37,800 a year.
Source: PCN Answers, 2026 Small Business Missed Call Revenue Study (scenario model) (2026)
An HVAC shop missing 75 of 300 monthly calls models out to $63,000 to $94,500 a year in lost jobs ($350 average job).
Source: PCN Answers, 2026 Small Business Missed Call Revenue Study (scenario model) (2026)
A law firm missing 50 intake calls a month models out to $450,000 to $900,000 a year in lost matters ($5,000 to $6,000 per matter).
Source: PCN Answers, 2026 Small Business Missed Call Revenue Study (scenario model) (2026)
A medical practice missing 80 scheduling calls a month models out to about $57,600 a year in lost visits ($200 per visit).
Source: PCN Answers, 2026 Small Business Missed Call Revenue Study (scenario model) (2026)
A property manager missing 62 leasing calls a month models out to about $239,000 a year in first-year management revenue.
Source: PCN Answers, 2026 Small Business Missed Call Revenue Study (scenario model) (2026)
At the low end, one answering service estimates $12.15 per missed call, or about $8,800 a year for two missed calls a day.
Source: AMBS Call Center, The Real Cost of a Missed Call (2025)
Each figure is quoted with the scope its source reports: sample, market and year. Where a widely repeated number could not be traced to an original study, we say so in its source line or leave it out. Quote any line with a link to this page.
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