Do plumbers make more in Elkhart or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $64,730 in Elkhart and $103,380 in Chicago, a 37% difference.

Plumber salary in Elkhart, IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Elkhart–Goshen, IN area earn a median of $64,730 a year, or $31.12 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $104,060. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $76,320; Elkhart is 15% below it.

Median yearly pay$64,730

Bottom 10% under$45,430Top 10% over$104,060

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.84/hr
Jobs in this area: 400
After cost of living: $71,660
Median hourly pay: $31.12/hr
vs U.S. median: +1%
vs Indiana median: −15%
Mean (average) pay: $73,130 a year · $35.16 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 21140, Elkhart-Goshen, 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 Elkhart, 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	$21.84	$45,430
25th percentile	$24.64	$51,260
Median (50th)	$31.12	$64,730
75th percentile	$46.08	$95,840
90th percentile	$50.03	$104,060

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

How Elkhart, IN compares

Elkhart ranks 14th of 15 Indiana metro areas for plumber pay.
Plumbers hold about the same share of jobs in the Elkhart area as nationally: 3.1 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in Elkhart, IN

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

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Elkhart or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $64,730 in Elkhart and $103,380 in Chicago, a 37% 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 21140 (Elkhart-Goshen, 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 (90.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures