Plumber salary in Cedar Rapids, IA
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the Cedar Rapids, IA area earn a median of $83,210 a year, or $40.01 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $94,590 a year. Across all of Iowa, the median is $63,890, so Cedar Rapids pays 30% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.99/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 780
- After cost of living
- $93,530
- Median hourly pay
- $40.01/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +30%
- vs Iowa median
- +30%
Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $47,830–$51,890$22.99–$24.95/hr | |
| Journeyman | $83,210$40.01/hr | |
| Master / top earners | $85,320–$94,590$41.02–$45.48/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Cedar Rapids, IA compares
- Cedar Rapids has the highest plumber median of the 9 Iowa metro areas with published pay.
- Plumbers are more concentrated in the Cedar Rapids area than nationally: 5.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.9 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $94,590, is 2.0 times the 10th-percentile wage, $47,830: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Iowa metro areas
Other trades in Cedar Rapids, IA
Questions
- How much do plumbers make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
- Plumbers in the Cedar Rapids, IA area earn a median of $83,210 a year, or $40.01 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $94,590 a year.
- How much do plumbers make an hour in Cedar Rapids, IA?
- The median hourly wage is $40.01. The middle half earn between $24.95 and $41.02 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice plumbers make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.99 an hour ($47,830 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $24.95.
- How much does a journeyman plumber make in Cedar Rapids, IA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $83,210 a year ($40.01 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $85,320–$94,590.
- Do plumbers make more in Cedar Rapids or Davenport?
- Cedar Rapids pays more: the median is $83,210 in Cedar Rapids and $76,310 in Davenport, a 9% difference.
- How does Cedar Rapids pay compare with the rest of Iowa?
- The Cedar Rapids median of $83,210 is 30% more than the Iowa median of $63,890.
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 16300 (Cedar Rapids, IA). 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 (89.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures