Plumber Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 5,420 US job postings by 1,818 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for plumbers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 5,420 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for plumbers in US job postings is $32.21 an hour (1,581 postings from 578 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $25.00 to $40.00 an hour.
- The skills that most set plumber postings apart are plumbing systems, plumbing experience, plumbing codes.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Plumber job postings in the US, October 2026
- $32.21/hr
- Median advertised pay (1,581 postings)
- $25.00–$40.00
- Middle 50% of postings
- 5,420
- US job postings from 1,818 employers
- 3 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a plumber make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $32.21 an hour, from 1,581 US job postings by 578 employers that state pay. That is about $75,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 1,581 US plumber job postings: median $75,000 a year ($32.21 an hour), middle half $57,000 to $95,000.
- Median: $75,000 ($32.21/hr)
- 25th percentile: $57,000
- 75th percentile: $95,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.2% |
| $30K–$40K | 3.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 10.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 13.7% |
| $60K–$70K | 14.3% |
| $70K–$80K | 13.2% |
| $80K–$90K | 13.9% |
| $90K–$100K | 8.5% |
| $100K–$110K | 9.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 4.2% |
| $120K–$130K | 3.1% |
| $130K–$140K | 1.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.3% |
| $150K–$160K | 1.7% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 0.7% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.2% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.1% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | Most common titles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $32.21 | $25.00–$40.00 | 757 | Plumber, Journeyman Plumber, Plumbing Service Technician |
| Postings that state an annual salary | $92,000 | $75K–$108K | 512 | Plumbing Service Technician, Plumber, Service Plumber |
| All pay postings, annualised | $75,000 | $57K–$95K | 1,581 | – |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152) at $64,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a plumber?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying plumber jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber (general) | $36.06/hr | 1,209 | 499 |
Plumber pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $39.58/hr | $27.99–$48.08 | 112 | 10.1% |
| Florida | $35.00/hr | $28.34–$42.07 | 101 | 7.0% |
Skills employers ask for in plumber job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 36% |
| Customer service | 23% |
| Problem-solving | 17% |
| Work independently | 15% |
| Attention to detail | 13% |
| Troubleshooting | 8% |
| Plumbing systems | 8% |
| Interpersonal skills | 8% |
| Professionalism | 7% |
| Self-motivated | 7% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set plumbers apart
- Plumbing systems104.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Plumbing experience311.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Troubleshooting4.4× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Plumbing8.1× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a plumber job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a plumber do?
Employers post these jobs as Journeyman Plumber, Plumbing Service Technician, Service Plumber, Licensed Plumber, Residential Service Plumber and other titles. The largest specializations are Plumbing Service Manager (7%), Drain Technician (6%), Pipefitter (2%).
The closest official occupation is Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152.00). Its most important tasks:
- Shut off steam, water, or other gases or liquids from pipe sections, using valve keys or wrenches.
- Install underground storm, sanitary, or water piping systems, extending piping as needed to connect fixtures and plumbing.
- Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
- Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
- Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a plumber?
Among 1,779 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,779 US plumber job postings: median 3 years, and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 12% |
| 2 yrs | 27% |
| 3-4 yrs | 36% |
| 5-7 yrs | 21% |
| 8-9 yrs | 2% |
| 10+ yrs | 2% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 98% of the 632 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a plumber: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Plumber | 603 (33.2%) |
| Journeyman Plumber | 200 (11.0%) |
| Plumbing Service Technician | 134 (7.4%) |
| Service Plumber | 128 (7.0%) |
| Licensed Plumber | 116 (6.4%) |
| Residential Service Plumber | 86 (4.7%) |
| Plumbing Apprentice | 84 (4.6%) |
| Master Plumber | 74 (4.1%) |
| Drain Technician | 72 (4.0%) |
| Residential Plumber | 53 (2.9%) |
| Apprentice Plumber | 51 (2.8%) |
| Plumbing Installer | 50 (2.8%) |
| Plumbing Technician | 49 (2.7%) |
| Commercial Plumber | 41 (2.3%) |
| Plumbing Foreman | 31 (1.7%) |
| Lead Plumber | 29 (1.6%) |
| Plumbers | 28 (1.5%) |
| Plumber Apprentice | 28 (1.5%) |
| Plumbing Service Manager | 27 (1.5%) |
| Experienced Plumber | 26 (1.4%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Plumber job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Plumber | 361 | 200 | – | – | communication, customer service, work independently |
| Plumbing Apprentice | 164 | 84 | – | – | – |
Plumber compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber | $32.21/hr | 3 years | 5,420 | – |
| HVAC Technician | $33.50/hr | 3 years | 11,503 | 15 |
| Groundskeeper | $19.73/hr | 2 years | 5,631 | 19 |
| Stationary Engineer | $80K | 3 years | 1,016 | 11 |
| General Laborer | $20.00/hr | 1 year | 6,220 | 18 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC Technician | 15 | $33.50/hr |
| Groundskeeper | 19 | $19.73/hr |
| Stationary Engineer | 11 | $80K |
| General Laborer | 18 | $20.00/hr |
| Painter | 17 | $23.50/hr |
| Carpenter | 20 | $27.50/hr |
Applying for plumber jobs?
- Plumber resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find plumber jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a plumber make an hour?
What are the highest-paying plumber jobs?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.