{
    "question": "How much do plumbers make, and is demand growing?",
    "answer": "The median annual wage for US plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters was $63,800 in May 2025, or $30.67 an hour, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $44,150 and the top 10% over $108,420. BLS projects jobs to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 42,000 openings a year.",
    "period": "May 2025",
    "key_numbers": [
        {
            "value": "$63,800",
            "label": "Median annual wage, US plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters",
            "note": "BLS OEWS, May 2025",
            "stat": "home-services-marketing/plumber-median-pay"
        },
        {
            "value": "$30.67",
            "label": "Median hourly wage",
            "note": "BLS OEWS, May 2025"
        },
        {
            "value": "7%",
            "label": "Projected job growth, 2025 to 2035",
            "note": "BLS projections; 3% for all occupations",
            "stat": "home-services-marketing/plumber-job-growth-2025-2035"
        },
        {
            "value": "42,000",
            "label": "Projected openings each year",
            "note": "BLS, average over 2025-2035",
            "stat": "home-services-marketing/plumber-annual-openings"
        },
        {
            "value": "1,338,600",
            "label": "People employed by plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors",
            "note": "BLS CES, Aug 2026, preliminary; all staff",
            "stat": "home-services-marketing/plumbing-hvac-contractor-employment"
        }
    ],
    "tables": [
        {
            "id": "pay-2025",
            "title": "Plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter pay in the US, May 2025",
            "columns": [
                "Measure",
                "Annual wage"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Lowest 10% earned less than",
                    "$44,150"
                ],
                [
                    "25th percentile",
                    "$50,190"
                ],
                [
                    "Median",
                    "$63,800"
                ],
                [
                    "75th percentile",
                    "$85,110"
                ],
                [
                    "Highest 10% earned more than",
                    "$108,420"
                ],
                [
                    "Mean (average)",
                    "$72,170"
                ],
                [
                    "Median hourly wage",
                    "$30.67"
                ],
                [
                    "Mean hourly wage",
                    "$34.70"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "pay-p10",
                "pay-p25",
                "pay-median",
                "pay-p75",
                "pay-p90",
                "pay-mean",
                "pay-median-hourly",
                "pay-mean-hourly"
            ],
            "note": "Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152); BLS does not publish plumbers alone. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: wage and salary workers only, self-employed workers are not included. The median for all US occupations was $50,980.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "outlook",
            "title": "Plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter jobs and outlook, 2025 to 2035",
            "columns": [
                "Measure",
                "Number"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Jobs in 2025",
                    "510,600"
                ],
                [
                    "Projected jobs in 2035",
                    "545,200"
                ],
                [
                    "Change, 2025 to 2035",
                    "+34,500"
                ],
                [
                    "Projected growth, 2025 to 2035",
                    "7%"
                ],
                [
                    "Projected openings each year",
                    "42,000"
                ],
                [
                    "Growth, all construction trades workers",
                    "6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Growth, all occupations",
                    "3%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "jobs-2025",
                "jobs-2035",
                "jobs-change",
                "growth",
                "openings",
                "growth-construction-trades",
                "growth-all-jobs"
            ],
            "note": "BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, as shown in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Projections, not measured values.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "by-employer",
            "title": "Where plumbers work, and median pay there",
            "columns": [
                "Employer",
                "Share of jobs, 2025",
                "Median annual wage, May 2025"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors",
                    "65%",
                    "$63,010"
                ],
                [
                    "Self-employed workers",
                    "8%",
                    "Not published"
                ],
                [
                    "Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals",
                    "3%",
                    "$71,660"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "employer-contractors",
                "employer-self-employed",
                "employer-government"
            ],
            "note": "The largest employers listed by BLS in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "top-paying-states",
            "title": "States with the highest median pay for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, May 2025",
            "columns": [
                "State",
                "Median annual wage"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "District of Columbia",
                    "$101,020"
                ],
                [
                    "Illinois",
                    "$99,950"
                ],
                [
                    "Oregon",
                    "$97,050"
                ],
                [
                    "Minnesota",
                    "$94,410"
                ],
                [
                    "Alaska",
                    "$93,920"
                ],
                [
                    "Massachusetts",
                    "$93,880"
                ],
                [
                    "Wisconsin",
                    "$81,210"
                ],
                [
                    "Washington",
                    "$81,030"
                ],
                [
                    "Michigan",
                    "$80,190"
                ],
                [
                    "Montana",
                    "$79,960"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "pay-dc",
                "pay-illinois",
                "pay-oregon",
                "pay-minnesota",
                "pay-alaska",
                "pay-massachusetts",
                "pay-wisconsin",
                "pay-washington",
                "pay-michigan",
                "pay-montana"
            ],
            "note": "Top 10 of the 50 states and DC in the BLS OEWS profile. The national median is $63,800.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "most-jobs-states",
            "title": "States with the most plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, May 2025",
            "columns": [
                "State",
                "Employment",
                "Relative standard error"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "California",
                    "47,660",
                    "5.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Texas",
                    "44,090",
                    "4.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Florida",
                    "29,260",
                    "5.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "New York",
                    "23,210",
                    "7.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Illinois",
                    "16,750",
                    "6.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Ohio",
                    "16,390",
                    "5.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "North Carolina",
                    "14,510",
                    "7.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Michigan",
                    "14,120",
                    "6.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Virginia",
                    "13,780",
                    "4.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Pennsylvania",
                    "13,620",
                    "6.4%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "jobs-california",
                "jobs-texas",
                "jobs-florida",
                "jobs-new-york",
                "jobs-illinois",
                "jobs-ohio",
                "jobs-north-carolina",
                "jobs-michigan",
                "jobs-virginia",
                "jobs-pennsylvania"
            ],
            "note": "OEWS wage and salary employment (465,840 nationally), so self-employed plumbers are not counted.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "contractor-jobs",
            "title": "People employed by US plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (August each year)",
            "columns": [
                "Month",
                "All employees"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Aug 2024",
                    "1,305,000"
                ],
                [
                    "Aug 2025",
                    "1,315,200"
                ],
                [
                    "Aug 2026 (preliminary)",
                    "1,338,600"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "contractors-aug-2024",
                "contractors-aug-2025",
                "contractors-aug-2026"
            ],
            "note": "BLS Current Employment Statistics series CES2023822001, seasonally adjusted. One industry covers plumbing and HVAC firms together, and it counts every employee, not only plumbers, including commercial work.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "compare-trades",
            "title": "Plumbers compared with the other home trades",
            "columns": [
                "Occupation",
                "Jobs 2025",
                "Projected growth 2025-35",
                "Openings per year",
                "Median pay May 2025"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "HVAC mechanics and installers",
                    "440,900",
                    "11%",
                    "40,600",
                    "$61,010"
                ],
                [
                    "Electricians",
                    "821,000",
                    "9%",
                    "72,700",
                    "$63,190"
                ],
                [
                    "Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters",
                    "510,600",
                    "7%",
                    "42,000",
                    "$63,800"
                ],
                [
                    "All occupations",
                    "n/a",
                    "3%",
                    "n/a",
                    "$50,980"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "trade-hvac",
                "trade-electricians",
                "trade-plumbers",
                "trade-all"
            ],
            "note": "BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 edition.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "history",
            "title": "Plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter median pay and employment, May 2021 to May 2025",
            "columns": [
                "Year",
                "Median annual wage",
                "Median hourly wage",
                "Employment (OEWS)"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "May 2021",
                    "$59,880",
                    "$28.79",
                    "417,620"
                ],
                [
                    "May 2022",
                    "$60,090",
                    "$28.89",
                    "427,920"
                ],
                [
                    "May 2023",
                    "$61,550",
                    "$29.59",
                    "436,160"
                ],
                [
                    "May 2024",
                    "$62,970",
                    "$30.27",
                    "455,940"
                ],
                [
                    "May 2025",
                    "$63,800",
                    "$30.67",
                    "465,840"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "hist-2021",
                "hist-2022",
                "hist-2023",
                "hist-2024",
                "hist-2025"
            ],
            "note": "BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates each May. Wages are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation.",
            "source": "bls"
        }
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "name": "Occupational Outlook Handbook",
            "publisher": "US Bureau of Labor Statistics",
            "type": "official",
            "url": "https://www.bls.gov/"
        }
    ],
    "content_changed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "page_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/home-services-marketing/plumber-jobs-and-pay",
    "csv_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/home-services-marketing/plumber-jobs-and-pay.csv"
}