How much do plumbers make in Washington in 2026?

The median plumber in Washington earns $81,030 a year, which works out to $38.96 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's a solid benchmark, but where you land in the range depends heavily on your experience, specialty, and the region of the state where you work.

The bottom quarter of Washington plumbers — those just starting out or working in lower-wage markets — earn up to $60,030 annually, or about $28.86 an hour. If you're a few years in and still sitting near that number, it's worth looking at whether your employer, your specialty, or your geography is holding you back.

The top quarter clears $107,420 a year, equal to roughly $51.64 an hour. Plumbers at that level are typically journeymen or master plumbers with years of field experience, often working on commercial or industrial projects, complex medical gas systems, or high-end residential new construction. Some are running crews or operating their own shops and pulling service work at premium rates.

Washington's construction market is concentrated heavily in the Puget Sound corridor — Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, and the surrounding suburbs. Demand for plumbers in that zone is consistently high because of ongoing commercial development, multi-family housing projects, and renovation activity. Plumbers working in King and Snohomish counties generally see wages at the higher end of the state range. Eastern Washington, including Spokane and the Tri-Cities area, tends to run closer to the state median or below it, though commercial growth in those markets has been pushing wages up in recent years.

Specialization moves the needle. Plumbers who are certified in medical gas piping, backflow prevention, or fire suppression systems can command rates well above the state median. The same goes for those who cross-train in HVAC or pipefitting — broader skills mean more work categories and less downtime between jobs.

Overtime matters in this trade. Washington has significant construction activity year-round, and plumbers on commercial projects frequently log 50 or more hours per week during busy phases. At the median hourly rate of $38.96, ten hours of weekly overtime at time-and-a-half adds over $30,000 to annual take-home over the course of a full year. Workers who consistently pick up overtime are often the ones who appear to earn far above the published annual figures.

Licensing is required in Washington. The state requires plumbers to work through a structured apprenticeship and hold a valid plumber certificate issued by the Department of Labor & Industries. A journeyman license opens the door to working independently on most job types, while a master plumber license is required to pull permits and run a business. Holding a master license makes you significantly more valuable to employers and unlocks higher-paying supervisory and estimating roles.

Self-employed plumbers and small shop owners in Washington operate differently from hourly employees. Billing rates for plumbing services in the Seattle metro routinely run $150 to $200 per hour for residential service calls. After overhead — licensing, insurance, tools, a truck, and materials — a working owner-operator can net well into the six-figure range, though the business risk and workload are also higher.

Apprentices in Washington start at a fraction of journeyman scale, typically around 50% of the journeyman rate, stepping up incrementally over a four- or five-year program. If you're early in your career, the jump from apprentice completion to journeyman status is the single biggest wage increase you'll see — often pushing annual earnings up by $15,000 to $25,000 overnight.

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. No union scale data was available for this trade and state at time of publication.