Plumber Job Openings by State, Job Title

Available Plumber Jobs Nationwide

Plumbers nationwide earned a median salary of $56,330 in 2020 (about $27.08 per hour), more than $13,000 higher than the median wage for all workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some licensed plumber salaries can quickly grow into six figures with on-the-job training and years of experience. 

According to plumber salary data from Payfactors.com, the 50th percentile salary for an entry-level plumber (0-2 years experience) nationwide is $46,400. For intermediate experience (2-4 years), it’s $57,700; for senior plumbers (4-6 years), it’s $60,700. 

Working as a plumber offers numerous career opportunities for job seekers in every state, as companies compete to fill entry-level plumbing apprentice jobs, plumbing service tech jobs, plumbing foreman jobs, and positions requiring a plumbing license, such as journeyman plumbers and master plumbers.

Taking a big-picture view of plumbing job numbers posted nationwide, we gleaned a few interesting tidbits:

• The number of plumbing job openings nationwide grew from 126,852 in January through November 2020 to 209,359 in January through November 2021—a 65% increase in just one year.

• The number of monthly plumbing job postings grew 133.19% from the month of February 2020 to the month of November 2021.

• The fewest number of plumber job postings (7,722) occurred in April 2020 (in the midst of the pandemic), but more than doubled by September 2020 (15,603), a 102% increase.

• The largest number of plumbing job postings (25,249) occurred in September 2021, an 87.33% increase over the number of plumbing jobs posted in February 2021 (13,478).

Average number of active online job postings at any time during the month:

Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. internal data

Plumber Job Openings by State

In most states, candidates seeking a new job as a plumber need only a high school diploma and driver's license to start an apprenticeship program or join a trade school. Some companies even offer paid plumber apprentice jobs featuring on-the-job training. 

After completing a plumbing apprenticeship, candidates in most states can seek a journeyman plumber and master plumber license, and many provide specialty licenses for plumbers who work with natural gas or gas piping. Working as a plumber also provides real job security, with the industry projected to add 23,400 jobs by 2029, according to the BLS.

A review of state-by-state plumbing job numbers from ZipRecruiter shows an obvious correlation between state populations and the number of job listings.

States with the highest populations, like Texas, California, and Florida, top the list for the most plumbing jobs posted in November 2021.

Seven states listed between 500 and 1,000 plumbing jobs in November, including: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, and Arizona.

Average Number of Active Job Postings at Any Time During the Month, of November, 2021:

States with the most number of plumber job postings (more than 1,000) in November include:

• Texas: 1,772 jobs (population: 29.1 million)

• California: 1,726 jobs (population: 39.5 million)

• Florida: 1,368 jobs (population: 21.5 million)

States with more than 500 (but less than 1,000) plumbing jobs posted in November include:

• Virginia: 740 jobs (population 8.6 million)

• Pennsylvania: 690 jobs (population: 12.8 million)

• Ohio: 655 jobs (population 11.7 million)

• Massachusetts: 610 jobs (population 7 million)

• New York: 579 jobs (population 20.2 million)

• Tennessee: 547 jobs (population 6.9 million)

• Arizona: 521 jobs (population 7.1 million)

States with the lowest number of plumber job postings in November (below 100) include:

• Alaska: 48 jobs (population 733,391)

• Wyoming: 72 jobs (population 576,851)

• North Dakota: 72 jobs (population 779,094)

• Hawaii: 81 jobs (population 1.4 million)

• Vermont: 88 jobs (population 643,077)

• Rhode Island: 98 jobs (population 1 million)

• Montana: 99 jobs (population 989,415)

Other interesting state-related tidbits we gleaned from the ZipRecruiter data include:

• Eight states posted more plumbing jobs than HVAC jobs in November, including Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.

• Two states posted more plumbing jobs than HVAC and electrician jobs in November, including Idaho and Vermont.

• Two states posted more plumbing jobs than electrician jobs in November, including Delaware and Rhode Island.

• Two states posted the same number of plumbing jobs and HVAC jobs, including Alaska and West Virginia.

Plumber Job Openings by Job Title

[info for graphic: month-to-month comparison of job title postings for 2020 and 2021]

Finding the right plumber candidates may require plumbing companies to go beyond offering employee referral bonuses, incentive pay, or a competitive salary. For instance, are you also offering generous time-off plans with paid holidays or short-term disability insurance for injuries on the job? Sometimes, simple perks to show you care about your employees can help you close the deal.

With ZipRecruiter's help, we compiled job numbers by job title for all of 2020 and most of 2021 for the following seven plumber positions:

[more info for graphic]

• Plumber: 101,837 job postings for 2020; 153,686 for 2021

• Plumber helper: 1,535 job postings for 2020; 2,536 for 2021

• Plumbing apprentice: 3,272 job postings for 2020; 5,261 for 2021

• Plumbing engineer: 1,475 job postings for 2020; 2,063 for 2021

• Plumber pipefitter: 485 job postings for 2020; 813 for 2021

• Plumbing technician: 3,181 job postings for 2020; 5,161 for 2021

• Plumbing foreman: 1,642 job postings for 2020; 1,785 for 2021

With more than 255,000 postings for plumber job openings in the past two years, demand for these skilled professionals is high as companies continue to grapple with the trades labor shortage. According to ZipRecruiter, the average number of monthly plumber job listings increased by 133.19% when comparing the month of February 2020 (9,299) to November 2021 (21,684).

Other interesting findings for specific plumber job titles include:

• Plumber job postings increased for both years. 2020 shows a 132% increase between the lowest performing month (April, 5,155 jobs) and the highest performing month (September, 11,962 jobs), while 2021 shows a 107% increase between the lowest performing month (February, 9,509 jobs) and the highest performing month (September, 19,730 jobs).

• Jobs for plumbers and plumbing technicians grew the fastest when comparing jobs posted in February 2020 to jobs posted in November 2021, with plumber jobs growing by 160.72% and plumbing technician jobs growing by 155.51%.

• Jobs for plumber helpers and apprentice plumbers also show big increases when comparing jobs posted in January 2021 to November 2021, with a 126% increase for plumber helpers (134 to 303) and a 125% increase for apprentice plumbers (293 to 662).

• Jobs for plumbing engineers decreased by 61% between January 2020 (202 jobs) and July 2020 (78 jobs), but rebounded nicely with a 128% increase in job postings from January 2021 (127 jobs) to November 2021 (288 jobs).

• Jobs for plumbing pipefitters decreased by 46% between February 2020 (52 jobs) to May 2020 (28 jobs), but rebounded nicely with a 195% increase in job postings from January 2021 (40 jobs) to August 2021 (118 jobs).

Are you struggling to hire enough full-time or part-time plumbers to fill your company's open jobs? At ServiceTitan, we provide plumbing contractors with the right tools to hire smartly. ServiceTitan plumbing software makes hiring easier, and helps small home services companies compete with larger, more established businesses. 

With ServiceTitan’s payroll software, you can automate the process of complicated incentive pay structures, satisfying highly productive employees who might consider a job with a competitor for better pay and more timely bonuses. Just enter your bonus structure into ServiceTitan's payroll software, and the software automatically does the rest come payday.