Where does Alaska rank for Plumber pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Plumbers?

No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Plumber salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Alaska?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Alaska.

Union vs non-union plumber pay in Alaska?

BLS does not split union from non-union compensation. In Alaska, UA (United Association)-represented plumbers and pipefitters typically earn 20-40% above non-union median once health, pension, and annuity contributions are included. The premium is concentrated in industrial, commercial, and government project work; residential service plumbing in Alaska is predominantly non-union. UA Local hall job boards in Alaska are the cleanest reference for current scale and benefit values.

Service plumber vs new construction plumber in Alaska — pay difference?

BLS aggregates plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (47-2152) into one category. In Alaska, residential service plumbers (drain cleaning, water heater replacement, repair calls) earn near or below BLS median; commission-based service models in Alaska can produce above-median earnings for high-volume techs but with substantial variance. New-construction plumbing in Alaska pays above median for pipefitter and steamfitter specialties on industrial and commercial projects, especially when union-rate prevailing-wage rules apply on government work.

How long is the Alaska plumbing apprenticeship and what's the master plumber payback?

Alaska typically requires 4-5 years (8,000-10,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus 144+ classroom hours per year before the journeyman plumber exam. Master plumber licensure in Alaska requires an additional 2-5 years post-journeyman plus a separate exam, and unlocks business ownership, permit-pulling authority, and significantly higher compensation — owner-operator master plumbers in Alaska routinely earn 1.5-3× the BLS journeyman median once business profit is included. Apprenticeship pay starts at 40-60% of journeyman scale and ratchets up annually.

Alaska Plumber Salary 2026 — BLS Median $83K, Real Take-Home $80K

TL;DR

$83,090 is the BLS median wage for Plumbers in Alaska; $80,438 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Bottom quartile $65,900, top quartile $96,770. The P90 ($105,800) is roughly 1.7× the P10 ($61,610).
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Nominal: #5/51 · Real: #7/51 — ranking shifts by 2 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Alaska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$61,610	$59,644
P25 (lower quartile)	$65,900	$63,797
P50 (median)	$83,090	$80,438
P75 (upper quartile)	$96,770	$93,681
P90 (top tier)	$105,800	$102,423
Mean	$84,160	$81,474
Employment	870 Plumbers in Alaska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Alaska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	103.3
Goods	103.7
Services	113.3
Rents	96.7

Alaska's overall RPP (103.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Alaska (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Plumber)	$83,090	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,527	11.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,356	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$67,207	80.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$65,062	÷ (103.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Alaska state-tax burden means for Plumber take-home

Alaska levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,155 a year for a Plumber at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $65,062 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $62,970 for Plumbers with mean pay of $69,940 and total employment of 455,940. Alaska sits at #5 on nominal pay and #7 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Alaska falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Alaska rank for Plumber pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Plumbers?: No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Plumber salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Alaska?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Alaska.
Union vs non-union plumber pay in Alaska?: BLS does not split union from non-union compensation. In Alaska, UA (United Association)-represented plumbers and pipefitters typically earn 20-40% above non-union median once health, pension, and annuity contributions are included. The premium is concentrated in industrial, commercial, and government project work; residential service plumbing in Alaska is predominantly non-union. UA Local hall job boards in Alaska are the cleanest reference for current scale and benefit values.
Service plumber vs new construction plumber in Alaska — pay difference?: BLS aggregates plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (47-2152) into one category. In Alaska, residential service plumbers (drain cleaning, water heater replacement, repair calls) earn near or below BLS median; commission-based service models in Alaska can produce above-median earnings for high-volume techs but with substantial variance. New-construction plumbing in Alaska pays above median for pipefitter and steamfitter specialties on industrial and commercial projects, especially when union-rate prevailing-wage rules apply on government work.
How long is the Alaska plumbing apprenticeship and what's the master plumber payback?: Alaska typically requires 4-5 years (8,000-10,000 hours) of supervised on-the-job training plus 144+ classroom hours per year before the journeyman plumber exam. Master plumber licensure in Alaska requires an additional 2-5 years post-journeyman plus a separate exam, and unlocks business ownership, permit-pulling authority, and significantly higher compensation — owner-operator master plumbers in Alaska routinely earn 1.5-3× the BLS journeyman median once business profit is included. Apprenticeship pay starts at 40-60% of journeyman scale and ratchets up annually.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 47-2152, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Alaska Plumber pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.