Plumber salary in Albuquerque, NM
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the Albuquerque, NM area earn a median of $63,900 a year, or $30.72 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $87,920. Across all of New Mexico, the median is $61,440, so Albuquerque pays 4% more than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $17.93/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 1,440
- After cost of living
- $66,880
- Median hourly pay
- $30.72/hr
- vs U.S. median
- 0%
- vs New Mexico median
- +4%
Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $37,280–$46,800$17.93–$22.50/hr | |
| Journeyman | $63,900$30.72/hr | |
| Master / top earners | $78,690–$87,920$37.83–$42.27/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Albuquerque, NM compares
- Albuquerque has the highest plumber median of the 4 New Mexico metro areas with published pay.
- Plumbers are more concentrated in the Albuquerque area than nationally: 3.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $87,920, is 2.4 times the 10th-percentile wage, $37,280: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other New Mexico metro areas
Other trades in Albuquerque, NM
Questions
- How much do plumbers make in Albuquerque, NM?
- Plumbers in the Albuquerque, NM area earn a median of $63,900 a year, or $30.72 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $87,920.
- How much do plumbers make an hour in Albuquerque, NM?
- The median hourly wage is $30.72. The middle half earn between $22.50 and $37.83 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice plumbers make in Albuquerque, NM?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $17.93 an hour ($37,280 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $22.50.
- How much does a journeyman plumber make in Albuquerque, NM?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $63,900 a year ($30.72 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $78,690–$87,920.
- Do plumbers make more in Albuquerque or Las Cruces?
- Albuquerque pays more: the median is $63,900 in Albuquerque and $54,560 in Las Cruces, a 17% difference.
- How does Albuquerque pay compare with the rest of New Mexico?
- The Albuquerque median of $63,900 is 4% more than the New Mexico median of $61,440.
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 10740 (Albuquerque, NM). 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 (95.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures