Do plumbers make more in Baltimore or Philadelphia?

Philadelphia pays more: the median is $63,200 in Baltimore and $74,860 in Philadelphia, a 16% difference.

Plumber salary in Baltimore, MD

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, MD area earn a median of $63,200 a year, or $30.38 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $102,640 a year. That's 3% less than the Maryland median of $65,400.

Median yearly pay$63,200

Bottom 10% under$45,220Top 10% over$102,640

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.74/hr
Jobs in this area: 5,220
After cost of living: $60,490
Median hourly pay: $30.38/hr
vs U.S. median: −1%
vs Maryland median: −3%
Mean (average) pay: $70,780 a year · $34.03 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 12580, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD). 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 Baltimore, MD 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	$21.74	$45,220
25th percentile	$26.38	$54,880
Median (50th)	$30.38	$63,200
75th percentile	$39.76	$82,710
90th percentile	$49.34	$102,640

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

How Baltimore, MD compares

Baltimore ranks 3rd of 6 Maryland metro areas for plumber pay.
Plumbers are more concentrated in the Baltimore area than nationally: 3.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.3 times the U.S. share.

Other Maryland metro areas

Other trades in Baltimore, MD

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

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Baltimore or Philadelphia?: Philadelphia pays more: the median is $63,200 in Baltimore and $74,860 in Philadelphia, a 16% 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 12580 (Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD). 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 (104.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures