Quick answer: How much do plumbers make? The median plumber in the United States made $63,800 a year, or $30.67 an hour, in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median means the middle: half of all plumbers made more than that, and half made less. Plumbers who earn a license, learn a specialty and work for the right company can earn well over $100,000.
In this video, Roger Wakefield, a Texas Master Plumber with 45 years in the trade, sits down with Dustin Marx, owner of Mother Modern Plumbing in Dallas-Fort Worth, where the lowest-paid install plumber earns about $104,000 a year.
What is the average plumber salary in 2026?
The best national number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the government office that tracks pay for jobs across the country. Its newest figures, from May 2025, put the median pay for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters at $63,800 a year.
Here is what the BLS reports for the trade:
- Median pay: $63,800 a year, or $30.67 an hour (May 2025)
- Jobs in the United States: 510,600 (2025)
- Expected growth: 7% from 2025 to 2035, which the BLS calls much faster than average
- New jobs expected: 34,500 over those ten years
- Education to start: a high school diploma or equivalent
- Training: an apprenticeship, which means you learn on the job while you get paid
You can read the full report on the BLS plumbers page.
How does plumber pay change from apprentice to master?
Plumber pay climbs in steps, and each step is a license. The BLS does not publish separate pay for each step, so the clearest way to know what a company pays at each level is to ask before you take the job.
- Apprentice: a beginner who works under a licensed plumber and gets paid while learning the trade.
- Journeyman: a plumber who has finished the required training hours and passed the state exam, so they can work without someone checking every job.
- Master plumber: the top license. A master plumber can supervise other plumbers, and in many states it is the license that lets you run a plumbing company.
Every license test has math on it. Roger’s guide to studying for the plumbing exam walks through the questions that trip people up.
Do you need a college degree to become a plumber?
No. The BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education to start, and the training happens in an apprenticeship, on the job, with a paycheck. That is a big part of why Roger’s message to students and parents is simple: The Trades Are Plan A.
Not sure plumbing is your trade? The free TradesOnRamp quiz takes about five minutes and matches you to the skilled trade that fits you best.
How do some plumbers make more than $100,000 a year?
They stack the odds in their favor. In Roger’s October 2026 interview, Dustin Marx of Mother Modern Plumbing explains that his lowest-paid install plumber earns over $2,000 a week, about $104,000 a year, on a five-day week with no on-call. The company also pays 50% of its profits to its plumbers, split by what each one contributes.
Not every company pays like that, and the national median is $63,800. The plumbers who pull far ahead tend to do the same few things:
- Earn the next license. Each license opens work and pay that the one before it could not.
- Pick a specialty. As Roger puts it, nobody pays extra for the guy who does a little bit of everything. A specialty like leak detection turns a service call into a specialist call.
- Work where pay follows contribution. Profit sharing and promotions from within reward the plumbers who bring in the work.
- Keep learning. Roger’s training programs teach tradespeople how to grow their skills, their business and their brand.
Is plumbing a good career for the future?
The numbers say yes. The BLS expects jobs for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all jobs, adding 34,500 jobs.
Plumbing is also hard to hand to a machine. A robot cannot crawl under a house, read a corroded fitting or explain the fix to a worried homeowner. That idea is at the center of Roger’s keynote, AI-Proof: The Careers the Robots Can’t Take, which he gives to workforce and education audiences. Event planners can book Roger to speak.
How do you start a career as a plumber?
Start with one step this week. Most plumbers follow the same path:
- Take the free TradesOnRamp quiz to see if plumbing fits you.
- Call local plumbing companies and ask if they hire apprentices, and what they pay at each license level.
- Learn the math and the code while you work, then sit for your state’s license exam once you have the hours.
- Keep going until you hold the license you want, then pick a specialty.
Frequently asked questions about plumber pay
These are the questions people ask most about what plumbers make.
How much do plumbers make an hour?
The median plumber made $30.67 an hour in May 2025, according to the BLS. Your pay depends on your license, your state, your company and how much overtime you work.
Can a plumber make $100,000 a year?
Yes. At Mother Modern Plumbing in Dallas-Fort Worth, the lowest-paid install plumber earns about $104,000 a year, as owner Dustin Marx told Roger Wakefield in October 2026. Licenses, specialties and profit sharing are how plumbers get there.
Do you need college to be a plumber?
No. The typical way in is a high school diploma or equivalent, followed by a paid apprenticeship where you learn on the job.
How many plumbers are there in the United States?
The BLS counted 510,600 jobs for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in 2025, and it expects 34,500 more by 2035.
Who is Roger Wakefield?
Roger Wakefield is a Texas Master Plumber with 45 years in the trade, a blue-collar keynote speaker and one of the most watched trades educators in the world, with 1.7 million followers and more than 160 million YouTube views.
About Roger Wakefield
Roger Wakefield has spent 45 years in plumbing. Today he teaches the trades to 1.7 million followers across social media, on his YouTube channel and on The Trade Talks podcast. Read Roger’s story, or watch his videos on YouTube.