Do plumbers make more in Columbus or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $85,930 in Columbus and $103,380 in Chicago, a 17% difference.

Plumber salary in Columbus, IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Columbus, IN area earn a median of $85,930 a year, or $41.31 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $97,070. That's 13% more than the Indiana median of $76,320.

Median yearly pay$85,930

Bottom 10% under$49,400Top 10% over$97,070

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $23.75/hr
Jobs in this area: 100
After cost of living: $92,390
Median hourly pay: $41.31/hr
vs U.S. median: +35%
vs Indiana median: +13%
Mean (average) pay: $77,920 a year · $37.46 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 18020, Columbus, IN). 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 Columbus, IN 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	$23.75	$49,400
25th percentile	$30.43	$63,290
Median (50th)	$41.31	$85,930
75th percentile	$46.67	$97,070
90th percentile	$46.67	$97,070

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

How Columbus, IN compares

Columbus ranks 5th of 15 Indiana metro areas for plumber pay.
Plumbers are less concentrated in the Columbus area than nationally: 2.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.65 times the U.S. share.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in Columbus, IN

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

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Columbus or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $85,930 in Columbus and $103,380 in Chicago, a 17% 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 18020 (Columbus, IN). 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 (93.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures