- The middle half earn between $22.21 and $33.48 an hour.
- Idaho is 49th of the 50 states and DC, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- Idaho pays less than all 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 3,090 plumbers on payrolls in Idaho.
- At the state median wage, a plumbing business needs to bill about $114.81 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Plumber pay in Idaho, bottom to top
BLS counts plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters as one group, so the figures include industrial pipe work as well as service and new construction plumbing.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.96 | $39,430 | $21.22 |
| 25th percentile | $22.21 | $46,200 | $24.13 |
| Median | $25.18 | $52,380 | $30.67 |
| 75th percentile | $33.48 | $69,640 | $40.92 |
| 90th percentile | $39.72 | $82,620 | $52.13 |
| Average (mean) | $28.10 | $58,450 | $34.70 |
Pay is bunched up in Idaho. The top tenth earn $39.72 an hour or more, about 2.1 times the $18.96 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.5 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $2.26 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $12.41 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $28.10, sits 12% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical plumber makes.
How Idaho compares with other states
Over a full year, the Idaho median of $52,380 is $11,420 less than the national $63,800.
In the state ranking, Idaho sits 49th, between Florida ($25.44) and South Dakota ($24.82). The range runs from $23.39 in Arkansas to $48.57 in the District of Columbia.
Every one of the neighboring states pays plumbers more than Idaho. The closest is Nevada at $29.62, and the biggest gap is with Oregon.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
How many plumbers work in Idaho
About 3,090 plumbers work on payrolls in Idaho, 0.7% of the 465,840 nationwide, the 37th largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 3.6 of every 1,000 jobs in Idaho, 1.2 times the national share.
What a plumbing business in Idaho should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a plumbing business in Idaho paying the state median of $25.18, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $25.18 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $56,381 |
| Break-even rate | ($56,381 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $97.59 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $97.59 ÷ 0.85 | $114.81 |
That is $114.81 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and $9.64 less than the $124.45 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $33.48 in Idaho, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $129.38.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.21, the rate only drops to $109.59.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the plumbing labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a plumber in Idaho
- Licensing. What Idaho asks for before you can work on your own: Plumbing license in Idaho.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how plumbing companies run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2152, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: plumber salary by state.