TradeSalary

Plumber salary in Brownsville, TX

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Brownsville–Harlingen, TX area earn a median of $46,850 a year, or $22.53 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $63,820. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $59,840; Brownsville is 22% below it.

Median yearly pay$46,850
Bottom 10% under$32,670Top 10% over$63,820
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$15.71/hr
Jobs in this area
250
After cost of living
$54,490
Median hourly pay
$22.53/hr
vs U.S. median
−27%
vs Texas median
−22%
Mean (average) pay
$47,590 a year · $22.88 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 15180, Brownsville-Harlingen, TX). 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 Brownsville, TX 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$15.71$32,670
25th percentile$17.97$37,370
Median (50th)$22.53$46,850
75th percentile$26.87$55,900
90th percentile$30.68$63,820

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

How Brownsville, TX compares

  • Brownsville ranks 23rd of 25 Texas metro areas for plumber pay.
  • Plumbers are less concentrated in the Brownsville area than nationally: 1.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.53 times the U.S. share.

Other Texas metro areas

Other trades in Brownsville, TX

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Brownsville or Austin?
Austin pays more: the median is $46,850 in Brownsville and $62,810 in Austin, a 25% 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 15180 (Brownsville-Harlingen, TX). 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 (86.0, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures