- The middle half earn between $29.72 and $51.36 an hour.
- New Jersey ranks 11th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- New Jersey pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 8,750 plumbers on payrolls in New Jersey.
- At the state median wage, a plumbing business needs to bill about $136.64 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Plumber pay in New Jersey, 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 | $23.42 | $48,720 | $21.22 |
| 25th percentile | $29.72 | $61,810 | $24.13 |
| Median | $37.61 | $78,240 | $30.67 |
| 75th percentile | $51.36 | $106,830 | $40.92 |
| 90th percentile | $65.73 | $136,710 | $52.13 |
| Average (mean) | $44.51 | $92,590 | $34.70 |
Pay spreads out a lot in New Jersey. The bottom tenth earn $23.42 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $65.73 or more, a gap of 2.8 times against 2.5 nationally. Where a plumber sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $23.42 against $21.22 at the bottom tenth, and $65.73 against $52.13 at the top.
The average wage, $44.51, sits 18% 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 New Jersey compares with other states
Over a full year, the New Jersey median of $78,240 is $14,440 more than the national $63,800.
In the state ranking, New Jersey sits 11th, between Montana ($38.44) and Hawaii ($37.53). The range runs from $23.39 in Arkansas to $48.57 in the District of Columbia.
New Jersey pays plumbers more than any of its neighboring states, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New Jersey. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against New Jersey |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $37.61 | $78,240 | |
| Delaware | $31.11 | $64,720 | −$6.50 an hour |
| New York | $37.26 | $77,490 | −$0.35 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $32.73 | $68,080 | −$4.88 an hour |
How many plumbers work in New Jersey
About 8,750 plumbers work on payrolls in New Jersey, 1.9% of the 465,840 nationwide, the 21st largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 2.0 per 1,000 jobs, 0.68 times the national share.
What a plumbing business in New Jersey should charge
Higher wages in New Jersey go straight into the price. Take a plumbing business in New Jersey paying the state median of $37.61 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its 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 | $37.61 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $84,213 |
| Break-even rate | ($84,213 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $116.14 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $116.14 ÷ 0.85 | $136.64 |
That is $136.64 per billable hour, 3.6 times the wage, and $12.19 more than the $124.45 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $51.36 in New Jersey, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $160.79.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $29.72, the rate only drops to $122.78.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the plumbing labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a plumber in New Jersey
- Licensing. What New Jersey asks for before you can work on your own: Plumbing license in New Jersey.
- 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.