Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters earn an average annual salary of $80,653, making it one of the higher-paying occupations. The field has seen strong growth, with employment increasing by 7.0% over recent years. Professionals in this field are primarily employed in industries such as Cross-industry and Cross-industry, Private Ownership only.
Key Statistics
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters workforce.
Employment Over Time
45,460 Workforce in 2023
The Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$80,653 Average Wage
In 2023, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters earned an average of $80,653.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Salary distribution for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
180,139 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -0.3%
179,521 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -0.7%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 43,020 employees, $80,954 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 8,750 employees, $79,922 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 5,530 employees, $77,143 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 4,690 employees, $80,921 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 4,530 employees, $73,859 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 4,450 employees, $88,602 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 3,370 employees, $76,607 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 2,230 employees, $105,801 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 2,210 employees, $91,930 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 1,030 employees, $75,969 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 920 employees, $72,500 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Diversity
Demographic information on Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in 2023 was 45,460 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in 2023 were Business Administration, Engineering, Plumbing Technology.
Common majors for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters workers.
Education level distribution for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Skills
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Repairing, Troubleshooting, Monitoring.
Required skills for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters include Building and Construction, Mechanical, Design, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service.
Knowledge areas required for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters include Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Finger Dexterity, Deductive Reasoning, Manual Dexterity.
Required abilities for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
Daily Activities
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Performing General Physical Activities.
Most important work activities for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
About
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The average yearly wage for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters was $80,653 in 2023.
SOC Code
47-2152 - Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters reports an average salary of $80,653.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 45,460 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.