HVAC vs Plumbing Pay: Which Trade Earns More?

The comparison starts with the measurement, because both figures come from the same survey at the same date: the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) release for May 2025, published May 15, 2026.

It covers wage-and-salary workers, and its annual figures assume a 2,080-hour work year (hourly wage × 2,080).

Each figure is also a bundle.

The plumbing side is one BLS category — Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) — whose example titles include plumber, master plumber, pipe fitter, steamfitter, sprinkler fitter and gas plumber; BLS publishes no plumber-only wage.

The HVAC side is the combined HVACR category, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021).

With that scope in mind, here is the national picture:

Read the middle first: the plumbing category led by $2,790 at the median ($63,800 versus $61,010).

The average separates the trades further: $72,170 against $64,780, with each trade's mean sitting above its median.

The full percentile tables, state by state, live on our HVAC salary and plumber salary pages; this page stays at the comparison level.

Start with what does not exist: BLS publishes no starting-pay statistic, and there is no federal apprentice-only wage statistic.

In the wage survey, apprentices are generally classified in the journey occupation rather than counted separately.

Two measured proxies bracket the entry stage.

The first is each occupation's bottom percentiles — which cover every worker in the occupation, not just new hires.

In May 2025 the 10th percentile was $19.25 an hour ($40,050 a year) for HVACR and $21.22 ($44,150) for the plumbing category; at the 25th percentile it was $23.25 ($48,360) against $24.13 ($50,190).

The second proxy is the helper rung, and here the trades are not measured on the same footing.

The pipe trades' federal helper category — Helpers–Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-3015) — earned a $42,360 median, or $20.36 an hour.

We found no HVAC-specific helper category in BLS's occupation list; the broad federal line, Helpers–Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers (SOC 49-9098), covers every repair trade and paid a $39,630 median, or $19.05 an hour.

Because the two categories cover different jobs, the medians describe each category on its own terms rather than a head-to-head.

So at the entry stage the percentile proxies lean the same way as the medians: the plumbing category's figures sit higher at both measured percentiles.

What the apprenticeship looks like also differs: HVAC's formal route is typically a postsecondary nondegree program of 6 months to 2 years followed by lengthy on-the-job training, with some techs training through multi-year apprenticeships, while most plumbers learn through a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship that BLS describes as 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus technical instruction each year.

What sets the paycheck along the way is the program, not one federal number.

Registered apprenticeship rules from the U.S. Department of Labor (29 CFR 29.5(b)(5)) require a progressively increasing schedule of wages, with an entry wage not below the federal minimum wage where applicable (or higher where another law or agreement requires) — but the percentage steps come from each program's standards or a collective bargaining agreement, not from federal law.

The per-trade detail lives on our HVAC starting pay and plumber starting pay pages.

The comparison stops being close at the top.

At the 75th percentile, the plumbing category earned $85,110 against $77,060 for HVACR.

At the 90th percentile it earned $108,420 against $95,210 — the point where the gap reaches $13,210.

Put the $100,000 line on it and the trades separate into different worlds: fewer than 10% of HVACR mechanics earned six figures in OEWS-measured pay, against somewhere between 10% and 25% of plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

BLS publishes no exact share above the line for either trade.

The top of the industry pay list is niche territory.

For HVACR, computer systems design ($115,910), scheduled air transportation ($114,080) and natural gas distribution ($105,630) are the highest-paying industries; for the plumbing category, electric power generation ($115,310), petroleum and coal products manufacturing ($106,550) and pharmaceutical manufacturing ($105,800).

Each is a small niche, not a typical job in its trade.

Geography moves the medians, too.

The highest-paying metros by median were Fairbanks-College, Alaska ($93,820) for HVACR and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California ($107,560) for the plumbing category.

Where both trades sit in the wider table of highest-paying trades — and what separates the median from the top decile — is its own comparison.

Ownership is another stage the federal wage data cannot measure.

OEWS counts employees: it excludes the self-employed, including owners and partners in unincorporated firms.

Our research found no verified figure for what an HVAC or plumbing business owner takes home, so this page prints no owner-income number for either trade.

Two things the data does show.

First, both trades share the same biggest employer: the single largest employer of each occupation is building equipment contractors — 305,330 HVACR mechanics and installers and 340,140 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters — the industry group where most of each trade works.

(It also includes electrical contractors, so it shows where the trades concentrate, not that every shop is one trade or the other.)

Second, self-employment is a real part of both workforces, and BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook measures the share: in 2025, 6% of HVAC mechanic and installer jobs were self-employed, against 8% of plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter jobs — out of 440,900 and 510,600 total jobs respectively.

By this measure the self-employed layer runs slightly larger on the plumbing side.

So the honest answer on ownership upside is that our research found no verified national number for either trade.

The trade-specific paths — what ownership requires and involves — are covered in our HVAC business owner income and plumbing business owner income guides.

Location re-prices both trades — sometimes more than the trade choice itself.

One caution before the rankings: both lists below lead with the District of Columbia, which BLS counts as a state and which is a small job market — 400 wage-and-salary HVACR jobs and 1,010 in the plumbing category in the May 2025 state tables.

With that in mind, the top-paying states for HVACR by annual median wage in May 2025 were District of Columbia ($84,390), Alaska ($77,430), Illinois ($77,410), Massachusetts ($77,300) and Connecticut ($76,610); for the plumbing category, District of Columbia ($101,020), Illinois ($99,950), Oregon ($97,050), Minnesota ($94,410) and Alaska ($93,920).

Alaska and Illinois appear in both top fives; Oregon, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut fill out the rest.

The plumbing category's leading states run higher in dollar terms, though the two rankings are not a state-by-state pairing.

Where the jobs are is its own map.

HVACR's three biggest state markets are Florida (39,160), California (35,130) and Texas (34,730); the plumbing category's are California (47,660), Texas (44,090) and Florida (29,260).

The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro employs the most of both: 21,820 HVACR and 21,040 in the plumbing category.

Can a national ranking tell you which trade pays more in your state?

It cannot — the rankings above are per-trade, and neither pairs the two trades state by state.

Your state's rows live in the tables on our HVAC salary and plumber salary pages, and one low-cost check beats any ranking: read what employers actually list on the HVAC technician jobs board where you live.

This page is career information, not financial or legal advice. Pay figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 (released May 15, 2026) for wage-and-salary workers; confirm current data with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and compare real offers in your market before you decide.