Plumber salary in Charlottesville, VA
Updated September 26, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Plumbers in the Charlottesville, VA area earn a median of $56,510 a year, or $27.17 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $74,620. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $60,470; Charlottesville is 7% below it.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $20.30/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 240
- After cost of living
- $57,000
- Median hourly pay
- $27.17/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −11%
- vs Virginia median
- −7%
Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $42,210–$48,640$20.30–$23.39/hr | |
| Journeyman | $56,510$27.17/hr | |
| Master / top earners | $68,500–$74,620$32.93–$35.87/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Charlottesville, VA compares
- Charlottesville ranks 7th of 11 Virginia metro areas for plumber pay.
- Plumbers are less concentrated in the Charlottesville area than nationally: 2.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.70 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $74,620, is 1.8 times the 10th-percentile wage, $42,210: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Virginia metro areas
Other trades in Charlottesville, VA
Questions
- How much do plumbers make in Charlottesville, VA?
- Plumbers in the Charlottesville, VA area earn a median of $56,510 a year, or $27.17 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $74,620.
- How much do plumbers make an hour in Charlottesville, VA?
- The median hourly wage is $27.17. The middle half earn between $23.39 and $32.93 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice plumbers make in Charlottesville, VA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $20.30 an hour ($42,210 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.39.
- How much does a journeyman plumber make in Charlottesville, VA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $56,510 a year ($27.17 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $68,500–$74,620.
- Do plumbers make more in Charlottesville or Washington?
- Washington pays more: the median is $56,510 in Charlottesville and $71,860 in Washington, a 21% difference.
- How does Charlottesville pay compare with the rest of Virginia?
- The Charlottesville median of $56,510 is 7% less than the Virginia median of $60,470.
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 16820 (Charlottesville, VA). 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 (99.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 26, 2026. How we calculate these figures