Men account for the majority of Plumbers in the United States. The overall average income for this group is approximately $20.10 per hour. Total cash compensation to Plumbers approaches anywhere from $29K on the lower end to $76K on the higher end; in exceptional cases, this can include more than $2K from bonuses and upwards of $18K from profit sharing. Compensation for this group is mainly affected by geography, but tenure and the individual firm are influential factors as well. Most Plumbers like their work and job satisfaction is high. More than two-fifths of professionals in this line of work do not receive benefits; however, the greater part report medical coverage and approximately one in three claim dental coverage as well. The data for this snapshot was collected from individuals who took PayScale's salary survey. Add this chart to your site:XAll compensation data shown are gross 10th to 90th percentile ranges. Take the PayScale Survey to find out how location influences pay for this job.)

Profit Sharing$197.97 - $17,754XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).) National Hourly Rate Data (?$0$16$32$48Hourly Rate$13.49 - $33.09 Hourly Tips$0.00 - $2.68 National Annualized Data (? Find Out Exactly What You Should Be Paid Comp Managers: Start Here » Job Description for Plumber Plumbers are responsible for installing and maintaining water systems within buildings, including drinking water, drainage, heating, sanitation, and sewage systems. Plumbers are not only involved with the installation and development of new houses and plumbing systems, but also with assessing and fixing problems in existing and older systems. Cut and thread pipes. Install vents and traps in the plumbing system, in accordance with required codes.

Utilize appropriate plumbing and shop tools. Install and repair pipes and fixtures and open clogged drains. Cut openings in floors and walls to accommodate pipe and pipe fittings. Common Career Paths for Plumber Plumbers do not often transition into Construction Project Manager roles. The role averages $70K per year. When Plumbers are ready for the next step in their careers, they often become Master Plumbers or Lead Plumbers. Those roles pay an additional $8K and $7K, respectively. View More Jobs » Search for more jobs: Popular Employer Salaries for Plumber Benjamin Franklin Plumbing offers the lowest pay in the field with a median salary of just $47K, but on the other end, some employees may earn up to $92K. Survey respondents exploit a significant toolbox of skills in their work. Most notably, facility with Troubleshooting, Commercial, and Project Management are correlated to pay that is significantly above average, leading to increases of 22 percent, 18 percent, and 16 percent, respectively.

Many workers who know Blueprints also know Plumbing. Pay by Experience Level for Plumber Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience. Experience does not seem to be a strong driver of pay increase in this role. Salaries of relatively inexperienced workers fall in the neighborhood of $36K, but folks who have racked up five to 10 years see a notably higher median of $45K. Buy Used Rims DenverPlumbers with one to two decades of relevant experience report an average salary of approximately $51K. Best Chair For A Hunting BlindRespondents who claim more than 20 years of experience may encounter pay that doesn't quite reflect their extensive experience; Chow Dog Puppies For Salethese veterans report a median income of around $53K.

Pay Difference by Location Boston%Chicago%Los Angeles%New York%Philadelphia%Baltimore%See fewer citiesLearn about cost of living by city » Surpassing the national average by 35 percent, Plumbers in San Jose receive some of the highest pay in the country. Plumbers will also find cushy salaries in Boston (+34 percent), Chicago (+30 percent), Seattle (+26 percent), and Los Angeles (+18 percent). Charlotte ranks last in the field for pay, reporting salaries 15 percent below the national average. Employers also pay below the national average in Tampa (9 percent lower) and Phoenix (8 percent lower). See up-to-date Journeyman Plumber salary information on our new salaries page.J.D. Pooley / GettyPlumber Joe Wurzelbacher speaks to the media on October 16, 2008, outside of his home in Holland, Ohio. Forget the jokes about sagging workbelts, dirty t-shirts and plungers — the day of the savvy, politically inquisitive plumber is now at hand. Much has already been said of Joe the Plumber's sharp ascent into the public eye over the past two days.

Since the airing of the final presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on Oct. 15, reporters have discovered the following about Joe Wurzelbacher, 34, of Holland, Ohio: He owes some taxes, apparently is working toward his plumbing license — though he has worked in the industry for more than a decade — and he voted for McCain in the presidential primary. After the debate, fact-checkers were in a frenzy correcting McCain on several tidbits concerning the man who's now the most famous plumber in the nation: his name, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (not Joe Wurzelberger); that Wurzelbacher would face "much higher taxes" turns out would not be true after he admitted that the business he wants to buy likely wouldn't make enough to be taxed under Obama's plan; and more importantly, the fact that McCain apparently mistook Wurzelbacher's desired salary of $250,000 for his current salary, which the plumber says is far less. Which of course begs the question: How much do plumbers actually make?

The standard assumption is that they earn a pretty decent wage. Americans want and need working pipes, just like they want and need their trash collected every few days — sanitation being another service always in demand by consumers and not always in demand by job-seekers, and typically pretty well paying as a result. That said, a plumber's earnings vary widely depending on the region in which they work and whether a plumber owns a business that employs others. Journeymen in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston are in higher demand and command higher prices — up to about $250,000 a year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2006 National Compensation Survey, pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters nationwide made an average of $23 an hour, or about $46,000 annually for a typical 40-hour workweek. But those numbers lump different occupations together and don't give a complete picture of the current market. A pipelayer, for example, mostly installs pipes, while pipefitters and steamfitters install, maintain and repair pipe systems.

Organizations such as the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association and The United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) (which has endorsed Obama) don't keep statistics on how much members take home, or on industry earning standards. But a representative at the UA says that owners of plumbing businesses would likely take bigger hits in economic hard times because they incur the production costs of keeping a company running. Paul Abrams, a spokesman for Roto-Rooter, the nation's largest plumbing and drain service provider, says he has seen evidence of that. "We've had some people who owned businesses close up shop and come work for us," Abrams says. He notes that some master plumbers (about five to seven years experience) at the Cincinnati-based company make in excess of $100,000 a year. "A good plumber can pretty much write his ticket and make a good living with a good amount of experience," Abrams says. The outsourcing boom that has sucked information technology jobs overseas, coupled with a dearth of workers in plumbing — a somewhat recession-resistant market — makes for an industry ripe for growth.