Plumber salary in Lexington, KY
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the Lexington–Fayette, KY area earn a median of $61,870 a year, or $29.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $96,190 a year. Across all of Kentucky, the median is $64,160, so Lexington pays 4% less than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $21.77/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 810
- After cost of living
- $66,610
- Median hourly pay
- $29.75/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −3%
- vs Kentucky median
- −4%
Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $45,280–$48,990$21.77–$23.55/hr | |
| Journeyman | $61,870$29.75/hr | |
| Master / top earners | $81,350–$96,190$39.11–$46.25/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Lexington, KY compares
- Lexington ranks 7th of 9 Kentucky metro areas for plumber pay.
- Plumbers hold about the same share of jobs in the Lexington area as nationally: 2.8 of every 1,000 jobs.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $96,190, is 2.1 times the 10th-percentile wage, $45,280: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Kentucky metro areas
Other trades in Lexington, KY
Questions
- How much do plumbers make in Lexington, KY?
- Plumbers in the Lexington–Fayette, KY area earn a median of $61,870 a year, or $29.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $96,190 a year.
- How much do plumbers make an hour in Lexington, KY?
- The median hourly wage is $29.75. The middle half earn between $23.55 and $39.11 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice plumbers make in Lexington, KY?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $21.77 an hour ($45,280 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.55.
- How much does a journeyman plumber make in Lexington, KY?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $61,870 a year ($29.75 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $81,350–$96,190.
- Do plumbers make more in Lexington or Paducah?
- Paducah pays more: the median is $61,870 in Lexington and $82,120 in Paducah, a 25% difference.
- How does Lexington pay compare with the rest of Kentucky?
- The Lexington median of $61,870 is 4% less than the Kentucky median of $64,160.
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 30460 (Lexington-Fayette, KY). 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 (92.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures