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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Vermont), the real-wage equivalent is $62,331 — what the $60,550 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,205 to $80,295.

How are Vermont 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.

Where does Vermont rank for Plumber pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Vermont 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 Vermont a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Plumbers?

No — Vermont'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.

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 Vermont?

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

Vermont Plumber Salary 2026 — BLS Median $61K, Real Take-Home $62K

TL;DR

Median Plumber salary in Vermont: $60,550 nominal, $62,331 real (BEA RPP basis).
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $46,220 · P25 $48,770 · P75 $78,000 · P90 $91,990.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #34 of 51; nominal rank is #35.

Wage breakdown — Vermont

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$46,220	$47,580
P25 (lower quartile)	$48,770	$50,205
P50 (median)	$60,550	$62,331
P75 (upper quartile)	$78,000	$80,295
P90 (top tier)	$91,990	$94,696
Mean	$63,230	$65,090
Employment	960 Plumbers in Vermont

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Vermont index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.1
Goods	97.9
Services	122.1
Rents	82.3

Vermont's overall RPP (97.1) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Plumber)	$60,550	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,128	8.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,951	3.35–8.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,632	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$48,839	80.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$50,276	÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $48,839 (80.7% of gross). After the 97.1 RPP, real take-home is $50,276.

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. Vermont sits at #35 on nominal pay and #34 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Vermont climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Plumber salary in Vermont?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Vermont), the real-wage equivalent is $62,331 — what the $60,550 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,205 to $80,295.
How are Vermont 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.
Where does Vermont rank for Plumber pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Vermont 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 Vermont a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Plumbers?: No — Vermont'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.
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 Vermont?: BLS does not split union from non-union compensation. In Vermont, 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 Vermont is predominantly non-union. UA Local hall job boards in Vermont are the cleanest reference for current scale and benefit values.

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 Vermont 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.