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Median pay
$62,970
Median annual pay for Plumber / Pipefitter.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
Strong replacement demand, apprenticeship economics, and self-employment potential, with physical work and licensing as the main costs.
Strong replacement demand, apprenticeship economics, and self-employment potential, with physical work and licensing as the main costs.
The measurable baseline is $62,970 median pay, 4.5% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 44,000 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $62,970. The 2024 self-employed share is 7.8%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 504,500 and projected 2034 employment at 527,200. That corresponds to 4.5% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 44,000 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as High school diploma or equivalent. On-the-job preparation is listed as Apprenticeship. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Employers struggle to hire plumbers. The headline figure is 76%. Construction firms reporting difficulty filling plumber positions in the 2025 workforce survey. Source: AGC/NCCER (2025).
Plumbing combines apprenticeship-based entry, substantial replacement demand, and self-employment potential. Employer difficulty filling plumber roles strengthens the demand case, but the field remains licensed and physically tied to job sites.
This field is a stronger fit if you prefer a concrete training route, are comfortable with on-site work, and value entering without a four-year bachelor's degree.
Before choosing Plumber / Pipefitter, compare it with Electrician, HVAC Technician, Firefighter. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
Strong replacement demand, apprenticeship economics, and self-employment potential, with physical work and licensing as the main costs. The measurable baseline is $62,970 median pay, 4.5% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 44,000 annual openings, and a typical entry path of High school diploma or equivalent.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $62,970. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Compare Plumber / Pipefitter with Electrician, HVAC Technician on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
Plumbing combines apprenticeship-based entry, substantial replacement demand, and self-employment potential. Employer difficulty filling plumber roles strengthens the demand case, but the field remains licensed and physically tied to job sites.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.