Plumber salary
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the U.S. earn a median of $63,800 a year, or $30.67 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $108,420 a year.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $21.22/hr
- Jobs nationwide
- 465,840
- Median hourly pay
- $30.67/hr
- Mean (average) pay
- $72,170 a year · $34.70 an hour
Pay by percentile
What plumbers in the U.S. earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.22 | $44,150 |
| 25th percentile | $24.13 | $50,190 |
| Median (50th) | $30.67 | $63,800 |
| 75th percentile | $40.92 | $85,110 |
| 90th percentile | $52.13 | $108,420 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median plumber wage in the U.S. rose 6.5%, from $59,880 in May 2021 to $63,800 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 10.8%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $59,880 | $28.79/hr |
| May 2022 | $60,090 | $28.89/hr |
| May 2023 | $61,550 | $29.59/hr |
| May 2024 | $62,970 | $30.27/hr |
| May 2025 | $63,800 | $30.67/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
Plumber pay by state
- District of Columbia$101,020
- Illinois$99,950
- Oregon$97,050
- Minnesota$94,410
- Alaska$93,920
- Massachusetts$93,880
- Wisconsin$81,210
- Washington$81,030
- Michigan$80,190
- Montana$79,960
See all 50 states and DC
- New Jersey$78,240
- Hawaii$78,060
- New York$77,490
- Connecticut$77,280
- Rhode Island$76,470
- Indiana$76,320
- California$72,830
- Pennsylvania$68,080
- New Hampshire$66,810
- Missouri$66,790
- Maryland$65,400
- Kansas$65,220
- Delaware$64,720
- Kentucky$64,160
- Maine$64,000
- Iowa$63,890
- Louisiana$63,680
- North Dakota$63,560
- Ohio$63,330
- Colorado$63,240
- Wyoming$62,410
- Vermont$62,170
- Arizona$62,070
- Utah$61,900
- Nevada$61,610
- New Mexico$61,440
- Nebraska$60,970
- Virginia$60,470
- Texas$59,840
- Alabama$58,670
- Tennessee$58,600
- Oklahoma$57,970
- Georgia$57,200
- North Carolina$57,080
- West Virginia$56,980
- Mississippi$55,480
- South Carolina$53,940
- Florida$52,910
- Idaho$52,380
- South Dakota$51,620
- Arkansas$48,660
Top-paying metro areas
- San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa ClaraCA$107,560
- Chicago–Naperville–ElginIL-IN$103,380
- BellinghamWA$102,750
- Minneapolis–St. Paul–BloomingtonMN-WI$101,630
- Portland–Vancouver–HillsboroOR-WA$101,010
- Kennewick–RichlandWA$97,130
- BloomingtonIN$96,980
- Boston–Cambridge–NewtonMA-NH$96,760
- Fairbanks–CollegeAK$96,670
- Champaign–UrbanaIL$95,530
Other trades in the U.S.
Questions
- Which state pays plumbers the most?
- The District of Columbia, with a median of $101,020 a year, followed by Illinois ($99,950). Arkansas has the lowest median, $48,660.
- Which metro area pays plumbers the most?
- The San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA area, with a median of $107,560 a year.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2152 (Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed plumbers and business owners aren't included. Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures