Electrician vs. Plumber: Which Pays More?

Pay Side by Side

Both occupations are reported on the same percentile structure, so a fair comparison means reading the same four numbers for each. Here is where each one lives.

Two things to watch when you read these tables. First, every figure is published as both an annual and an hourly estimate — don't compare an hourly plumber number to an annual electrician number. Second, 47-2152 bundles plumbers with pipefitters and steamfitters, so the plumber-only picture in your area may sit below or above the combined figure depending on how much industrial pipe work your region has.

Electrician demand is published separately: BLS projects employment growth and a specific number of average annual openings for the trade over 2024–2034 (ablemkr.com), with the total job count and projected openings also summarised from the Occupational Outlook Handbook (tradecolleges.org). ONET publishes the equivalent projected openings figure for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (ONET OnLine, 2024). Pull both before you commit — openings volume drives how quickly you move off apprentice rates.

Why the Gap Exists

The gap, where there is one, is not about one trade mattering more. It comes from four concrete things.

Licensing. Both trades are licensed state by state, and in most states you cannot work unsupervised without logging apprenticeship hours and passing an exam. That requirement is what keeps entry pay off the floor — it also means your first years are paid as a percentage of the journeyman rate rather than at the median. The number of hours and the exam content differ between electrical and plumbing boards in the same state, so check your state licensing board for both trades before assuming the timelines match.

Union coverage. High-wage states for electricians are described as typically reflecting strong IBEW union contracts (majormatch.us), and that shows up in the state files: Oregon's average electrician wage runs above the national electrician median (majormatch.us). Plumbing and pipefitting have their own agreements, and coverage density varies by metro, not by trade alone. Where a trade is heavily covered locally, scheduled rate steps replace individually negotiated raises.

Demand and the measurable premium. Electricians' median wage is reported at 26% more than the typical American worker's (constructioncoverage.com, 2024) — that is the clearest quantified effect either trade publishes, and it reflects steady demand backed by BLS projected growth and average annual openings for 2024–2034 (ablemkr.com; tradecolleges.org).

Employer type and setting. Residential service shops, commercial contractors, industrial plants and utilities pay differently within each trade, and the spread between the 10th and 90th percentile annual wages for electricians (salary-atlas.com, 2024-05; ablemkr.com, 2024-05) is driven mainly by that mix plus years of experience. The same two variables — employer setting and experience — explain most of the spread in the plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter figures (O*NET OnLine, 2024). State is the third: Hawaii's OEWS estimates for 47-2152 (Hawaii DLIR, 2024-05) sit far from a low-cost state's estimates for the same work.

Which One Fits Your Priorities

• Fastest entry pay. Compare the electrician 10th-percentile annual wage (salary-atlas.com, 2024-05) with the lowest published percentile for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (O*NET OnLine, 2024) in your own state file — whichever is higher locally is your answer, and in many states the two are within a few thousand dollars a year.
• Highest ceiling. Electricians publish a 90th-percentile annual wage for the top-earning 10% (ablemkr.com, 2024-05), typically reached as a master electrician, foreman or contractor in industrial or utility work. For 47-2152, the top end is carried largely by pipefitters and steamfitters rather than residential plumbers (O*NET OnLine, 2024).
• Most predictable raises. Union-covered work in either trade, because rate steps are scheduled. High-wage electrician states are described as typically reflecting strong IBEW contracts (majormatch.us); check local plumbing and pipefitting agreement coverage for the equivalent.
• Best in a specific state. Oregon favours electricians on the published average wage versus the national electrician median (majormatch.us). Hawaii's state estimates for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (Hawaii DLIR, 2024-05) show how far a single state can sit from the national figure — run the same check for both occupation codes wherever you live.
• Most openings to enter through. BLS publishes projected growth and average annual openings for electricians over 2024–2034 (ablemkr.com; tradecolleges.org) and ONET publishes projected openings for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (ONET OnLine, 2024). More openings usually means a shorter wait for an apprenticeship slot.