TradeSalary

Plumber salary in Burlington, NC

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Burlington, NC area earn a median of $56,890 a year, or $27.35 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $74,050. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $57,080; Burlington is right at that level.

Median yearly pay$56,890
Bottom 10% under$38,730Top 10% over$74,050
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$18.62/hr
Jobs in this area
260
After cost of living
$61,040
Median hourly pay
$27.35/hr
vs U.S. median
−11%
vs North Carolina median
0%
Mean (average) pay
$56,230 a year · $27.04 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 15500, Burlington, NC). 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 Burlington, NC 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$18.62$38,730
25th percentile$22.15$46,080
Median (50th)$27.35$56,890
75th percentile$30.76$63,990
90th percentile$35.60$74,050

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

How Burlington, NC compares

  • Burlington ranks 8th of 16 North Carolina metro areas for plumber pay.
  • Plumbers are more concentrated in the Burlington area than nationally: 3.8 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.3 times the U.S. share.

Other North Carolina metro areas

Other trades in Burlington, NC

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Burlington or Virginia Beach?
Virginia Beach pays more: the median is $56,890 in Burlington and $61,870 in Virginia Beach, a 8% 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 15500 (Burlington, NC). 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 (93.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures