Plumber · Kansas · SOC 47-2152
Plumbers in Kansas: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-07.
TL;DR
- $62,820 is the BLS median wage for Plumbers in Kansas; $69,871 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
- Wage envelope: $39,260 (P10) to $104,300 (P90), with quartiles at $47,840 and $82,740.
- Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $7,051 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
- Nominal: #24/51 · Real: #18/51 — ranking shifts by 6 positions after RPP.
Wage breakdown — Kansas
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $39,260 | $43,667 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $47,840 | $53,210 |
| P50 (median) | $62,820 | $69,871 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $82,740 | $92,027 |
| P90 (top tier) | $104,300 | $116,007 |
| Mean | $68,710 | $76,423 |
| Employment | 4,090 Plumbers in Kansas | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Kansas index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 89.9 |
| Goods | 96.5 |
| Services | 90.8 |
| Rents | 68.6 |
Kansas sits below the national baseline (RPP 89.9), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 68.6.
After-tax take-home — Kansas (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Plumber) | $62,820 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$5,400 | 8.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$2,924 | 3.1–5.7% (graduated) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$4,806 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $49,690 | 79.1% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $55,268 | ÷ (89.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Kansas state-tax burden means for Plumber take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $49,690 (79.1% of gross). After the 89.9 RPP, real take-home is $55,268.
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. Kansas sits at #24 on nominal pay and #18 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Kansas climbs 6 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Plumber salary in Kansas?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 89.9 for Kansas), the real-wage equivalent is $69,871 — what the $62,820 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $53,210 to $92,027.
- How are Kansas Plumber salaries calculated on this page?
- Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
- How many Plumbers does Kansas employ?
- BLS OES counts 4,090 Plumbers employed in Kansas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- Why is the BEA RPP for Kansas different from a single CPI number?
- BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Kansas's overall index of 89.9 reflects rents 68.6, services 90.8, and goods 96.5.
- Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Kansas?
- 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 Kansas.
- Service plumber vs new construction plumber in Kansas — pay difference?
- BLS aggregates plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (47-2152) into one category. In Kansas, residential service plumbers (drain cleaning, water heater replacement, repair calls) earn near or below BLS median; commission-based service models in Kansas can produce above-median earnings for high-volume techs but with substantial variance. New-construction plumbing in Kansas 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 Kansas plumbing apprenticeship and what's the master plumber payback?
- Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Kansas 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.