How much do plumbers make in NYC?

The median plumber wage in the New York metro is $78,610 a year (about $37.79/hour), per BLS OEWS May 2025. Half of New York metro plumbers earn between $61,900 (25th percentile) and $107,970 (75th percentile). This is the BLS figure for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area; it is a before-tax employer-survey wage and does not include benefits, overtime, or self-employment income.

Which US metro pays plumbers the most?

Of the 50 metros with BLS plumber data, San Jose, CA pays the highest median at $107,560 a year, per BLS OEWS May 2025. These are raw wages, not adjusted for cost of living, which is high in San Jose, CA.

Do plumbers make more in expensive coastal cities?

Not always. In raw BLS dollars, Chicago, IL plumbers (median $103,380, rank #2) out-earn San Francisco, CA plumbers (median $77,880, rank #12) - and Chicago is far cheaper to live in (BLS OEWS May 2025). Strong building-trades unions, not just local cost of living, push plumber wages up. We don't cost-of-living adjust, so read the ranking as "highest-paying before rent," not "best place to work."

How much do plumbers make in Chicago?

The median plumber wage in the Chicago metro is $103,380 a year ($74,300 to $122,540 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.

How much do plumbers make in Los Angeles?

The median plumber wage in the Los Angeles metro is $71,110 a year ($58,560 to $101,300 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.

How much do plumbers make in Houston?

The median plumber wage in the Houston metro is $61,300 a year ($49,260 to $75,680 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.

What is the typical plumber wage across major US metros?

Across the 50 metros with BLS plumber data, the metro medians run from $52,000 (Tampa, FL) to $107,560 (San Jose, CA), a $55,560 spread. The middle of that set sits near $64,360. That figure describes these metros, not a national average. All numbers are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians.

Data report · June 2026

How much do plumbers make by US metro?

Name: Plumber pay by US metro
Creator: TradesPays
License: https://www.bls.gov/opub/copyright-information.htm

We ranked plumber pay across all 50 major US metros using real BLS wage figures. The most-asked version of this question is about New York — so here's that answer first, then the full picture, with the cost-of-living catch stated plainly.

The short answer · New York

$78,610 median / year

That's the BLS median for plumbers in the New York metro (New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ), about $37.79/hour. Most New York plumbers land between $61,900 (25th percentile) and $107,970 (75th percentile). It ranks #11 of 50 metros — high, but not the top. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025. This is an employer-survey wage; it doesn't count benefits, overtime, or what self-employed plumbers bill.

Want the New York state picture, with union scale and percentiles? See the full New York plumber page.

Read this first

These are raw wages, not adjusted for cost of living. A dollar goes a lot further in St. Louis than in San Jose, and this ranking does not correct for that. We haven't ingested cost-of-living data, so we don't pretend to adjust for it. Read this as “highest-paying before rent,” not “best place to work.”

But the list is not just expensive cities. Chicago, IL (#2, $103,380) and Minneapolis, MN (#3, $101,630) both pay plumbers more than San Francisco (#12, $77,880) — at a fraction of the rent. Strong building-trades unions, not just cost of living, push plumber pay up.

TradesPays data report

How much plumbers make, by metro

Median plumber wage across the top 20 of 50 metros. Raw dollars, not cost-of-living adjusted.

1. San Jose, CA$107,560
2. Chicago, IL$103,380
3. Minneapolis, MN$101,630
4. Portland, OR$101,010
5. Boston, MA$96,760
6. Seattle, WA$95,230
7. Detroit, MI$86,370
8. Milwaukee, WI$84,700
9. Grand Rapids, MI$80,440
10. Providence, RI$79,820
11. New York, NYNYC$78,610
12. San Francisco, CA$77,880
13. St. Louis, MO$77,000
14. Indianapolis, IN$76,980
15. Kansas City, MO$76,150
16. Philadelphia, PA$74,860
17. Louisville, KY$74,680
18. Baton Rouge, LA$74,240
19. San Diego, CA$72,510
20. Washington, DC$71,860

TradesPays · BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan files · plumber median (SOC 47-2152) · raw wages, not cost-of-living adjusted.

Share it: download the chart (PNG) or the dataset (JSON). Every figure traces to BLS OEWS May 2025.

What the numbers say

San Jose, CA pays plumbers the most ($107,560 median), Tampa, FL the least of the covered metros ($52,000) — a $55,560 spread on the same job. The surprise isn't the coasts; it's the union strongholds. Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids all pay plumbers near or above San Francisco wages at a fraction of the rent. Where the building trades are organized, the wage follows — cost of living or not.

All 50 metros, ranked

Median plumber wage by metro, with the 25th–75th percentile range (the middle half of plumbers). Raw dollars, not cost-of-living adjusted. BLS OEWS May 2025.

#	Metro	Median	25th–75th pct
1	San Jose, CA	$107,560	$76,040–$155,600
2	Chicago, IL	$103,380	$74,300–$122,540
3	Minneapolis, MN	$101,630	$65,290–$114,980
4	Portland, OR	$101,010	$72,440–$128,360
5	Boston, MA	$96,760	$62,640–$117,900
6	Seattle, WA	$95,230	$62,040–$126,730
7	Detroit, MI	$86,370	$61,190–$99,650
8	Milwaukee, WI	$84,700	$62,350–$108,000
9	Grand Rapids, MI	$80,440	$57,550–$91,310
10	Providence, RI	$79,820	$57,730–$106,710
11	New York, NY	$78,610	$61,900–$107,970
12	San Francisco, CA	$77,880	$62,650–$121,770
13	St. Louis, MO	$77,000	$57,430–$103,830
14	Indianapolis, IN	$76,980	$59,830–$97,480
15	Kansas City, MO	$76,150	$57,020–$98,990
16	Philadelphia, PA	$74,860	$60,900–$103,770
17	Louisville, KY	$74,680	$51,660–$88,420
18	Baton Rouge, LA	$74,240	$62,460–$77,360
19	San Diego, CA	$72,510	$61,390–$94,480
20	Washington, DC	$71,860	$55,780–$94,050
21	Los Angeles, CA	$71,110	$58,560–$101,300
22	Pittsburgh, PA	$70,100	$59,780–$84,870
23	Sacramento, CA	$65,210	$56,320–$85,340
24	Cincinnati, OH	$65,160	$50,290–$84,740
25	Salt Lake City, UT	$64,800	$50,940–$79,740
26	Riverside, CA	$63,920	$53,180–$81,250
27	Denver, CO	$63,900	$59,920–$81,350
28	Phoenix, AZ	$63,750	$54,430–$90,470
29	Omaha, NE	$63,400	$49,140–$92,810
30	Columbus, OH	$63,260	$49,340–$85,370
31	Baltimore, MD	$63,200	$54,880–$82,710
32	Cleveland, OH	$63,020	$50,510–$83,080
33	Austin, TX	$62,810	$48,760–$79,710
34	Virginia Beach, VA	$61,870	$49,500–$65,510
35	Richmond, VA	$61,480	$48,500–$72,020
36	Houston, TX	$61,300	$49,260–$75,680
37	Dallas, TX	$61,250	$47,910–$75,290
38	Raleigh, NC	$60,540	$48,370–$70,010
39	Nashville, TN	$60,100	$49,020–$75,090
40	Birmingham, AL	$60,090	$49,240–$64,450
41	Las Vegas, NV	$59,700	$47,380–$87,620
42	Oklahoma City, OK	$59,150	$47,270–$79,080
43	Jacksonville, FL	$58,920	$47,600–$63,930
44	Charlotte, NC	$58,690	$47,430–$64,230
45	Atlanta, GA	$58,380	$45,950–$71,950
46	San Antonio, TX	$58,180	$46,230–$68,510
47	Miami, FL	$57,760	$47,560–$63,960
48	Boise City, ID	$56,940	$46,600–$74,640
49	Orlando, FL	$55,380	$47,520–$61,750
50	Tampa, FL	$52,000	$48,740–$61,720

Plumber pay questions, answered

How much do plumbers make in NYC?: The median plumber wage in the New York metro is $78,610 a year (about $37.79/hour), per BLS OEWS May 2025. Half of New York metro plumbers earn between $61,900 (25th percentile) and $107,970 (75th percentile). This is the BLS figure for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area; it is a before-tax employer-survey wage and does not include benefits, overtime, or self-employment income.
Which US metro pays plumbers the most?: Of the 50 metros with BLS plumber data, San Jose, CA pays the highest median at $107,560 a year, per BLS OEWS May 2025. These are raw wages, not adjusted for cost of living, which is high in San Jose, CA.
Do plumbers make more in expensive coastal cities?: Not always. In raw BLS dollars, Chicago, IL plumbers (median $103,380, rank #2) out-earn San Francisco, CA plumbers (median $77,880, rank #12) - and Chicago is far cheaper to live in (BLS OEWS May 2025). Strong building-trades unions, not just local cost of living, push plumber wages up. We don't cost-of-living adjust, so read the ranking as "highest-paying before rent," not "best place to work."
How much do plumbers make in Chicago?: The median plumber wage in the Chicago metro is $103,380 a year ($74,300 to $122,540 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.
How much do plumbers make in Los Angeles?: The median plumber wage in the Los Angeles metro is $71,110 a year ($58,560 to $101,300 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.
How much do plumbers make in Houston?: The median plumber wage in the Houston metro is $61,300 a year ($49,260 to $75,680 between the 25th and 75th percentiles), per BLS OEWS May 2025.
What is the typical plumber wage across major US metros?: Across the 50 metros with BLS plumber data, the metro medians run from $52,000 (Tampa, FL) to $107,560 (San Jose, CA), a $55,560 spread. The middle of that set sits near $64,360. That figure describes these metros, not a national average. All numbers are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians.

What this is not

The numbers are real BLS medians. Read honestly, here is what they can and can't tell you.

Not cost-of-living adjusted.
Expensive metros rank high partly because they're expensive. San Jose, CA dollars and Tampa, FL dollars don't buy the same life. We didn't adjust, and we won't pretend a high raw wage means a high real one.
Not total compensation.
OEWS is an employer wage survey. It leaves out benefits, overtime, and self-employment income — and a lot of plumbers run their own book of work. Treat this as the W-2 wage line, not everything a plumber takes home.
A metro, not a neighborhood.
BLS metros are whole commuting areas. The "New York" figure covers New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, not the five boroughs alone.
Full plumber coverage, on purpose.
BLS published plumber wages for all 50 of 50 metros in our set, so nothing here is imputed or dropped. But these are the 50 metros with the most skilled-trades employment — a smaller metro could pay more and not appear.
One snapshot, not a trend.
Every figure is the single BLS OEWS May 2025 vintage. It's a point in time, not a trajectory.

Methodology

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025, metropolitan (CBSA) files, for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152). Annual 25th/50th/75th-percentile wages by metro. Public domain.
Metros covered: The 50 US metros with the most combined skilled-trades employment. Each is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (BLS area type 4); no metropolitan divisions, so there's no parent/child double-counting. BLS published plumber wages in all 50 (100% coverage) — nothing imputed.
How a metro is ranked: By its raw BLS annual median (p50) plumber wage. Ties break on metro name. No figure is modeled, blended, or cost-of-living adjusted.
The percentile range: The 25th–75th percentile columns are the BLS p25 and p75 — the band the middle half of plumbers in that metro fall within. We show it so a single median can't hide a wide spread.
Known limitations: Raw wages, no cost-of-living adjustment. OEWS measures wages, not total compensation (no benefits, overtime, or self-employment). A single May 2025 vintage; not a trend.

More on how we source everything: our methodology. See also the plumber pay hub for state-by-state numbers and union scale, and the companion report on the highest-paying metros across all trades.

Know what plumbers really make in your metro?

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