Plumber Statistics 2026: Job Market, Pay, Demand & Workforce

HVACHires had 1,424 open plumber listings from 654 employers on October 13, 2026.

840 were first posted in the previous 14 days and 998 in the previous 30 days.

At least 1.1% of plumber listings were part-time on October 13, 2026.

Listings that name no schedule are counted as full-time, so the real part-time share may be higher.

The benefit plumber listings named most often on October 13, 2026 was paid time off, in 73.4% of listings, followed by health insurance (62.1%).

A listing that does not mention a benefit may still offer it.

To browse the openings themselves, see all plumber listings.

The median plumber wage was $63,800 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, SOC 47-2152, May 2025).

The 25th percentile was $50,190 and the 75th percentile $85,110 a year (BLS OEWS, SOC 47-2152, May 2025).

Employers hiring plumbers on HVACHires advertise a median of $32.50 an hour across 331 employers on October 13, 2026; this is advertised pay, not earnings.

257 plumber listings from 123 employers stated annual pay instead, at an employer median of $100,000 a year.

For BLS pay by percentile and state, see the plumber salary guide, and for the full distribution of posted pay see our quarterly plumber pay data release.

Texas had the most open plumber listings on October 13, 2026, with 155 (10.9% of the national total).

Florida followed with 142 (10%).

To browse the openings in one state, start with plumber openings in Texas.

654 employers had open plumber listings on HVACHires on October 13, 2026, and the five largest posted 25.6% of them.

527 employers (80.6%) had exactly one open plumber listing.

BLS counted 465,840 wage-and-salary jobs in plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) in May 2025, a count that excludes the self-employed (BLS OEWS).

330,570 of those jobs, 71%, were at plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in May 2025 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 238220; share calculated).

BLS projects employment of plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) to grow 6.8% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 42,000 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35).

For what drives that projection, and whether the trade is short of workers, see the plumber job outlook.

For what the HVAC and plumbing technician shortage means for contractors, see our hiring analysis.

For how to enter the field, see the plumber career guide.

Listing figures are computed from every active, paid plumber listing on HVACHires at the time shown, and refreshed every six hours.

Listings on a job board are not a random sample of all plumber jobs, so read them as a picture of current hiring, not of total employment.

Advertised pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posts, or its single figure, and hourly and annual postings are never converted into each other.

The headline is the employer median: each employer’s own median, then the median across employers, so a contractor or franchise network posting hundreds of openings counts once.

A pay figure needs at least 30 listings from 10 employers and is withheld when one employer posted more than half of them.

Federal figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025 and Employment Projections 2025–35) and are quoted as published, with the year in each sentence.

OEWS wages cover wage-and-salary workers only and leave out overtime and the self-employed.

Plumber, service plumber and journeyman plumber listings are counted together, as in the plumber pay data release.