Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

519k

Average Age

40.7

Estimated Job Growth

4.26%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$54,163

Average Male Salary

$54,241

Average Female Salary

$49,669

About

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are most often employed by the Construction industry. The average yearly wage for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters was $54,163 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters by wage are Maintenance workers, machinery, Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, and Electric motor, power tool, & related repairers.

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are part of the Construction & Extraction Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of construction trades & extraction workers, Boilermakers, Carpenters, Carpet, floor, & tile installers & finishers, Cement masons, concrete finishers, & terrazzo workers, and 28 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are York (West) & Cumberland (West) Counties PUMA, ME, St. Mary's & Calvert Counties PUMA, MD, and Sioux Falls City PUMA, SD. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are Baytown City PUMA, TX, Brazoria County (Southwest)Lake Jackson City PUMA, TX, and Phoenix City (West) PUMA, AZ.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters and on wages and locations for those in the field. Construction is the industry that employs the most Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are paid most in Tompkins County PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Baytown City PUMA, TX.

Yearly Wage

$54,163

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,297

In 2020, Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters earned an average of $54,163, $1,791 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Maintenance workers, machinery make somewhat more than Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters while Electric motor, power tool, & related repairers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.328

WAGE GINI

In 2019, Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.328, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, by number of employees, are Construction, Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems, Natural gas distribution, Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Ship & boat building, Pipeline transportation, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing, Investigation & security services, and Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, by average wage, are Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing, and Air transportation.

Industries by Share

519k

2020 Workforce

± 17,653

4.73%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 4.65%

The number of people employed as Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters has been growing at a rate of 4.73%, from 495,371 people in 2019 to 518,789 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters employed by various industries. Construction employs the largest share of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters at 77.6%, followed by Water, steam, air-conditioning, & irrigation systems with 2.77% and Natural gas distribution with 1.96%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in the US. The average age of male Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in the workforce is 40.7 and of female Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is 40.2, and the most common race/ethnicity for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

510k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 17,501

8.91k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,317

98.3% of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Other (Hispanic)

65.6% of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.6% of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Age by Sex

40.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.447

40.2

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.37

The median age of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is 40.7, and Male employees are generally 0.462 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is Business but a relatively high number of Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters hold a major in Construction.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Projections

Projections on job growth for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters are expected to see a growth of 4.26% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

4.26%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.