State of the plumbing trade, 2026
What plumbers earn in every state, where the jobs are, how fast the work is projected to grow, which states license it and what typical plumbing jobs cost. Every figure comes from a public dataset or a koira.ai cost guide, with the method below and a CSV of the full table.
The short version
- The national median for plumbers is $30.67 an hour ($63,800 a year). Pay runs from $23.39 in Arkansas to $48.57 in District of Columbia.
- California has the most plumbers on payrolls, 47,660. See plumber pay in every state.
- State labor offices project +2.3% more jobs nationally from 2022 to 2032, with about 42,600 openings a year. Utah leads at +35.5%.
- 43 of the 49 states koira.ai has checked require a state license for plumbing work, 2 license part of it and 4 leave it to cities and counties. The plumbing license guide has each state's steps.
- A typical water heater installation is about $1,350 nationally in Koira's water heater installation cost guide. By state, the Koira estimate runs from $1,195 in Arkansas to $1,610 in Hawaii.
What plumbers earn
Median hourly wage by state, May 2025, the ten highest paying states. BLS published a median for 51 of the 50 states and DC.
The five lowest: Arkansas $23.39, South Dakota $24.82, Idaho $25.18, Florida $25.44 and South Carolina $25.93.
| Percentile | Hourly |
|---|---|
| 10th | $21.22 |
| 25th | $24.13 |
| Median | $30.67 |
| 75th | $40.92 |
| 90th | $52.13 |
What that wage means for a price
A wage is not a rate. Using the starting numbers of the free labor rate calculator (40 hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and a 15% profit), a business paying the national median has to bill about $124.45 an hour to cover it.
| Where | Median wage | Rate to bill |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $30.67 | $124.45 |
| District of Columbia, highest median | $48.57 | $155.89 |
| Arkansas, lowest median | $23.39 | $111.67 |
Change any of those numbers in the calculator to see your own rate. The CSV has the rate for every state.
Where the work is
The ten states with the most plumbers employed, May 2025.
Where the trade is most concentrated
Plumbers per 1,000 jobs of every kind in the state. A high number means the trade is a bigger share of local work than it is nationally.
Jobs outlook
State labor market offices project plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters jobs nationally to go from 482,700 in 2022 to 493,600 in 2032, a change of +2.3%, with about 42,600 openings a year from growth, retirements and people leaving the trade.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, on a newer base, projects 7% growth for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters from 2025 to 2035, about 42,000 openings a year.
The ten states with the fastest projected growth, 2022 to 2032. Projections exist for 50 states.
Slowest: Maine -2.2%, Michigan +0.9% and Ohio +1.9%. The path into the trade, state by state, is in how to become a plumber.
Licensing
Does the state require a state license for plumbing work? Each answer comes from the state's own board or statute.
- State license: 43 states.
- Partly licensed (residential only, above a dollar amount, or a registration): 2. Local only: 4. Not checked yet: 2.
- 28 of the 49 checked states put an insurance or bond rule in the license itself.
What plumbing jobs cost
National price ranges from Koira's cost guides. Each guide takes the low, average and high figures of two or more published cost guides and shows them.
| Job | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toilet repair | $110 | $200 | $300 |
| Garbage disposal repair | $85 | $230 | $330 |
| Drain cleaning | $200 | $270 | $380 |
| Kitchen faucet replacement | $160 | $280 | $380 |
| Sewer line cleaning | $190 | $310 | $580 |
| Garbage disposal installation | $150 | $400 | $950 |
| Toilet installation | $240 | $410 | $670 |
| Burst pipe repair | $200 | $500 | $2,000 |
| Kitchen sink installation | $310 | $520 | $830 |
| Water heater repair | $190 | $530 | $880 |
| Gas line installation | $270 | $600 | $1,350 |
| Water main repair | $430 | $1,000 | $1,850 |
| Water heater installation | $890 | $1,350 | $2,400 |
| Main water line replacement | $1,200 | $1,700 | $10,000 |
| Well pump replacement | $960 | $1,850 | $2,750 |
| Water softener installation | $200 | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| Slab leak repair | $820 | $2,400 | $4,200 |
| Tankless water heater installation | $1,400 | $2,750 | $3,950 |
| Sewer line replacement | $1,400 | $3,300 | $5,300 |
One job, state by state
Koira estimates of a typical water heater installation in the ten most expensive states. Only the labor share of the price moves with the state's BLS wage; materials do not.
Every state
| State | Median hourly | Employed | Jobs 2022 to 2032 | State license | Typical water heater installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $30.67 | 465,840 | +2.3% | 43 states | $1,350 |
| Alabama | $28.21 | 6,950 | +6.4% | Yes | $1,217 |
| Alaska | $45.15 | 1,200 | +12.6% | Yes | $1,532 |
| Arizona | $29.84 | 11,810 | +14.2% | Yes | $1,333 |
| Arkansas | $23.39 | 3,370 | +5.4% | Yes | $1,195 |
| California | $35.01 | 47,660 | +8.4% | Yes | $1,487 |
| Colorado | $30.40 | 10,080 | +11.8% | Yes | $1,369 |
| Connecticut | $37.16 | 5,410 | +12.3% | Yes | $1,487 |
| Delaware | $31.11 | 1,590 | +7.7% | Yes | $1,348 |
| District of Columbia | $48.57 | 1,010 | +6.3% | Yes | $1,470 |
| Florida | $25.44 | 29,260 | +13.3% | Yes | $1,234 |
| Georgia | $27.50 | 8,930 | +12.4% | Yes | $1,239 |
| Hawaii | $37.53 | 2,500 | Not published | Yes | $1,610 |
| Idaho | $25.18 | 3,090 | +22.9% | Yes | $1,312 |
| Illinois | $48.05 | 16,750 | +2.6% | Yes | $1,588 |
| Indiana | $36.69 | 11,280 | +3.6% | Yes | $1,376 |
| Iowa | $30.72 | 5,730 | +8.8% | Yes | $1,349 |
| Kansas | $31.36 | 4,590 | +3.7% | No, local only | $1,298 |
| Kentucky | $30.84 | 6,360 | +2.4% | Yes | $1,277 |
| Louisiana | $30.62 | 8,360 | +10.0% | Yes | $1,241 |
| Maine | $30.77 | 2,710 | -2.2% | Yes | $1,359 |
| Maryland | $31.44 | 11,420 | +6.0% | Yes | $1,354 |
| Massachusetts | $45.14 | 13,460 | +6.9% | Yes | $1,553 |
| Michigan | $38.56 | 14,120 | +0.9% | Yes | $1,369 |
| Minnesota | $45.39 | 10,720 | +5.6% | Yes | $1,498 |
| Mississippi | $26.67 | 3,360 | +19.0% | Yes | $1,205 |
| Missouri | $32.11 | 8,310 | +3.6% | Not checked yet | $1,375 |
| Montana | $38.44 | 1,860 | +22.6% | Yes | $1,366 |
| Nebraska | $29.31 | 4,110 | +7.9% | No, local only | $1,285 |
| Nevada | $29.62 | 5,370 | +8.9% | Yes | $1,375 |
| New Hampshire | $32.12 | 1,950 | +8.5% | Yes | $1,356 |
| New Jersey | $37.61 | 8,750 | +4.8% | Yes | $1,508 |
| New Mexico | $29.54 | 2,830 | +12.0% | Yes | $1,241 |
| New York | $37.26 | 23,210 | +4.1% | No, local only | $1,473 |
| North Carolina | $27.44 | 14,510 | +9.6% | Yes | $1,235 |
| North Dakota | $30.56 | 1,620 | +10.5% | Yes | $1,368 |
| Ohio | $30.45 | 16,390 | +1.9% | Partly | $1,379 |
| Oklahoma | $27.87 | 6,050 | +5.2% | Yes | $1,226 |
| Oregon | $46.66 | 5,370 | +15.4% | Yes | $1,425 |
| Pennsylvania | $32.73 | 13,620 | +2.8% | No, local only | $1,361 |
| Rhode Island | $36.77 | 1,820 | +11.9% | Yes | $1,390 |
| South Carolina | $25.93 | 5,770 | +4.5% | Yes | $1,237 |
| South Dakota | $24.82 | 1,760 | +12.2% | Yes | $1,243 |
| Tennessee | $28.17 | 9,270 | +8.8% | Partly | $1,248 |
| Texas | $28.77 | 44,090 | +13.3% | Yes | $1,232 |
| Utah | $29.76 | 7,030 | +35.5% | Yes | $1,323 |
| Vermont | $29.89 | 980 | +7.1% | Yes | $1,352 |
| Virginia | $29.07 | 13,780 | +3.4% | Yes | $1,315 |
| Washington | $38.96 | 12,470 | +10.1% | Yes | $1,531 |
| West Virginia | $27.39 | 1,830 | +4.0% | Yes | $1,328 |
| Wisconsin | $39.04 | 10,210 | +10.1% | Yes | $1,396 |
| Wyoming | $30.01 | 1,140 | +20.5% | Not checked yet | $1,352 |
How this report is made
Pay and employment are cells from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics files for May 2025 (state file, national file), occupation code 47-2152, all industries. They count people on a payroll; owner-operators are not in them. A cell BLS did not publish reads "Not published" and is empty in the CSV.
The rate to bill is the labor rate calculator's formula with its starting assumptions listed above and only the wage changed: the yearly cost of the worker plus overhead, spread over the billable hours, then a profit margin on top.
Job projections are each state labor market office's long-term projection for 2022 to 2032, published together by Projections Central. A state missing from that file has no figure here. The national outlook line quotes the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Licensing counts only rows of the plumbing license guide that an official board or statute page confirmed. States not checked yet are shown that way, never guessed. This is not legal advice.
Job prices come from the koira.ai cost guides. The national band is worked out from the published guides each one lists. State prices are Koira estimates: the labor share of the band is scaled by the state's BLS median wage for the work over the national median, held to 0.7 to 1.4. See the job prices by state report for the same method across trades.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters; Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2022 to 2032 (state labor market offices); Fixr, toilet repair cost; HomeAdvisor, toilet repair cost; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files); Fixr, garbage disposal repair cost; Bob Vila, garbage disposal repair cost; Fixr, drain cleaning cost; HomeAdvisor, drain cleaning cost; Bob Vila, drain cleaning cost; Fixr, kitchen faucet replacement cost; HomeAdvisor, kitchen faucet replacement cost; Fixr, sewer line cleaning cost; HomeAdvisor, sewer line cleaning cost; Fixr, garbage disposal installation cost; Bob Vila, garbage disposal installation cost; Today's Homeowner, garbage disposal installation cost; Fixr, toilet installation cost; HomeAdvisor, toilet installation cost; Bob Vila, toilet installation cost; This Old House, toilet installation cost; Fixr, burst pipe repair cost; HomeAdvisor, burst pipe repair cost; Fixr, kitchen sink installation cost; HomeAdvisor, kitchen sink installation cost; Fixr, water heater repair cost; HomeAdvisor, water heater repair cost; Bob Vila, water heater repair cost; Fixr, gas line installation cost; HomeAdvisor, gas line installation cost; Bob Vila, gas line installation cost; Fixr, water main repair cost; HomeAdvisor, water main repair cost; Fixr, water heater installation cost; HomeAdvisor, water heater installation cost; Bob Vila, water heater installation cost; Today's Homeowner, water heater installation cost; Fixr, main water line replacement cost; HomeAdvisor, main water line replacement cost; Today's Homeowner, main water line replacement cost; HomeAdvisor, well pump replacement cost; Bob Vila, well pump replacement cost; Fixr, water softener installation cost; Bob Vila, water softener installation cost; This Old House, water softener installation cost; Today's Homeowner, water softener installation cost; Fixr, slab leak repair cost; This Old House, slab leak repair cost; Fixr, tankless water heater installation cost; HomeAdvisor, tankless water heater installation cost; Bob Vila, tankless water heater installation cost; This Old House, tankless water heater installation cost; Today's Homeowner, tankless water heater installation cost; HomeAdvisor, sewer line replacement cost; Bob Vila, sewer line replacement cost; This Old House, sewer line replacement cost.
Running a plumbing business? See how plumbing businesses run on Koira, free on the Office plan.
Data as of: BLS wages and employment, May 2025. Job projections, 2022 to 2032 (Projections Central). License rows checked October 8, 2026 to October 9, 2026. Cost guides checked October 9, 2026. All reports.