Do plumbers make more in Muncie or Chicago?

Chicago pays more: the median is $64,790 in Muncie and $103,380 in Chicago, a 37% difference.

Plumber salary in Muncie, IN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Muncie, IN area earn a median of $64,790 a year, or $31.15 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $84,410 a year. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $76,320; Muncie is 15% below it.

Median yearly pay$64,790

Bottom 10% under$47,280Top 10% over$84,410

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.73/hr
Jobs in this area: 50
After cost of living: $73,500
Median hourly pay: $31.15/hr
vs U.S. median: +2%
vs Indiana median: −15%
Mean (average) pay: $63,920 a year · $30.73 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 34620, Muncie, 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 Muncie, 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	$22.73	$47,280
25th percentile	$27.33	$56,850
Median (50th)	$31.15	$64,790
75th percentile	$31.51	$65,530
90th percentile	$40.58	$84,410

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

How Muncie, IN compares

Muncie ranks 13th of 15 Indiana metro areas for plumber pay.
Plumbers are less concentrated in the Muncie area than nationally: 1.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.39 times the U.S. share.

Other Indiana metro areas

Other trades in Muncie, IN

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

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Muncie or Chicago?: Chicago pays more: the median is $64,790 in Muncie 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 34620 (Muncie, 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 (88.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures