Plumber salary in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL area earn a median of $65,180 a year, or $31.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $104,070 a year. Across all of Missouri, the median is $66,790, so Cape Girardeau pays 2% less than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $19.28/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 120
- After cost of living
- $75,720
- Median hourly pay
- $31.34/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +2%
- vs Missouri median
- −2%
Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $40,100–$47,170$19.28–$22.68/hr | |
| Journeyman | $65,180$31.34/hr | |
| Master / top earners | $104,070–$104,070$50.03–$50.03/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Cape Girardeau, MO-IL compares
- Cape Girardeau ranks 4th of 8 Missouri metro areas for plumber pay.
- Plumbers are less concentrated in the Cape Girardeau area than nationally: 2.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.88 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $104,070, is 2.6 times the 10th-percentile wage, $40,100: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Missouri metro areas
Other trades in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
Questions
- How much do plumbers make in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?
- Plumbers in the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL area earn a median of $65,180 a year, or $31.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $104,070 a year.
- How much do plumbers make an hour in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?
- The median hourly wage is $31.34. The middle half earn between $22.68 and $50.03 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice plumbers make in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $19.28 an hour ($40,100 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.68.
- How much does a journeyman plumber make in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $65,180 a year ($31.34 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $104,070–$104,070.
- Do plumbers make more in Cape Girardeau or St. Louis?
- St. Louis pays more: the median is $65,180 in Cape Girardeau and $77,000 in St. Louis, a 15% difference.
- How does Cape Girardeau pay compare with the rest of Missouri?
- The Cape Girardeau median of $65,180 is 2% less than the Missouri median of $66,790.
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 16020 (Cape Girardeau, MO-IL). 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 (86.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures