How much does a Plumber make in California?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $68,390 for Plumbers in California as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $57,090 and the 75th-percentile is $95,320.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Plumber salary in California?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 112.2 for California), the real-wage equivalent is $60,956 — what the $68,390 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,885 to $84,959.

How wide is the wage spread in California?

P10 to P90 spans $45,480 to $126,790. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Union vs non-union plumber pay in California?

BLS does not split union from non-union compensation. In California, 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 California is predominantly non-union. UA Local hall job boards in California are the cleanest reference for current scale and benefit values.

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

BLS aggregates plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (47-2152) into one category. In California, residential service plumbers (drain cleaning, water heater replacement, repair calls) earn near or below BLS median; commission-based service models in California can produce above-median earnings for high-volume techs but with substantial variance. New-construction plumbing in California 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 California plumbing apprenticeship and what's the master plumber payback?

California 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 California 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 California 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.

Plumber Pay in California: $68K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

California pays Plumbers a BLS median of $68,390 — the more useful number is $60,956, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Bottom quartile $57,090, top quartile $95,320. The P90 ($126,790) is roughly 2.8× the P10 ($45,480).
Cost premium eats $7,434 from the headline wage; the state ranks much lower on real take-home than nominal.
Nominal: #15/51 · Real: #39/51 — ranking shifts by 24 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — California

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$45,480	$40,537
P25 (lower quartile)	$57,090	$50,885
P50 (median)	$68,390	$60,956
P75 (upper quartile)	$95,320	$84,959
P90 (top tier)	$126,790	$113,009
Mean	$78,350	$69,834
Employment	45,460 Plumbers in California

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	California index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	112.2
Goods	106.8
Services	147.3
Rents	157.8

California is a high-cost state — RPP 112.2 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (157.8) and services (147.3).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Plumber)	$68,390	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$6,293	9.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,488	1–13.3% (10 brackets, +1% mental-health surcharge >$1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,232	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$54,377	79.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$48,467	÷ (112.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.6% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $54,377 (79.5% of gross). After the 112.2 RPP, real take-home is $48,467.

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. California sits at #15 on nominal pay and #39 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, California falls 24 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Plumber make in California?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $68,390 for Plumbers in California as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $57,090 and the 75th-percentile is $95,320.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Plumber salary in California?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 112.2 for California), the real-wage equivalent is $60,956 — what the $68,390 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,885 to $84,959.
How wide is the wage spread in California?: P10 to P90 spans $45,480 to $126,790. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Union vs non-union plumber pay in California?: BLS does not split union from non-union compensation. In California, 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 California is predominantly non-union. UA Local hall job boards in California are the cleanest reference for current scale and benefit values.
Service plumber vs new construction plumber in California — pay difference?: BLS aggregates plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (47-2152) into one category. In California, residential service plumbers (drain cleaning, water heater replacement, repair calls) earn near or below BLS median; commission-based service models in California can produce above-median earnings for high-volume techs but with substantial variance. New-construction plumbing in California 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 California plumbing apprenticeship and what's the master plumber payback?: California 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 California 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 California 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 California 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.