Do plumbers make more in Roanoke or Washington?

Washington pays more: the median is $51,700 in Roanoke and $71,860 in Washington, a 28% difference.

Plumber salary in Roanoke, VA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Roanoke, VA area earn a median of $51,700 a year, or $24.86 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $71,870 a year. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $60,470; Roanoke is 15% below it.

Median yearly pay$51,700

Bottom 10% under$38,270Top 10% over$71,870

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $18.40/hr
Jobs in this area: 560
After cost of living: $55,220
Median hourly pay: $24.86/hr
vs U.S. median: −19%
vs Virginia median: −15%
Mean (average) pay: $54,270 a year · $26.09 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40220, Roanoke, VA). 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 Roanoke, VA 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.

Percentile	Hourly	Yearly
10th percentile	$18.40	$38,270
25th percentile	$21.88	$45,500
Median (50th)	$24.86	$51,700
75th percentile	$29.53	$61,410
90th percentile	$34.56	$71,870

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

How Roanoke, VA compares

Roanoke ranks 10th of 11 Virginia metro areas for plumber pay.
Plumbers are more concentrated in the Roanoke area than nationally: 3.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Virginia metro areas

Other trades in Roanoke, VA

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic Roofer

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Roanoke or Washington?: Washington pays more: the median is $51,700 in Roanoke and $71,860 in Washington, a 28% 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 40220 (Roanoke, 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 (93.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures