Do plumbers make more in Fairbanks or Anchorage?

Fairbanks pays more: the median is $96,670 in Fairbanks and $93,600 in Anchorage, a 3% difference.

Plumber salary in Fairbanks, AK

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Fairbanks–College, AK area earn a median of $96,670 a year, or $46.48 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $121,130 a year. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $93,920; Fairbanks is 3% above it.

Median yearly pay$96,670

Bottom 10% under$61,600Top 10% over$121,130

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $29.61/hr
Jobs in this area: 200
After cost of living: $93,670
Median hourly pay: $46.48/hr
vs U.S. median: +52%
vs Alaska median: +3%
Mean (average) pay: $92,330 a year · $44.39 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 21820, Fairbanks-College, AK). Excludes self-employed plumbers. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What plumbers in Fairbanks, AK 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	$29.61	$61,600
25th percentile	$35.82	$74,510
Median (50th)	$46.48	$96,670
75th percentile	$50.66	$105,380
90th percentile	$58.24	$121,130

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Fairbanks, AK compares

Plumbers are more concentrated in the Fairbanks area than nationally: 5.5 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.9 times the U.S. share.

Other Alaska metro areas

Anchorage$93,600

Other trades in Fairbanks, AK

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Fairbanks or Anchorage?: Fairbanks pays more: the median is $96,670 in Fairbanks and $93,600 in Anchorage, a 3% difference.

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), area code 21820 (Fairbanks-College, AK). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed plumbers and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (103.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures