Plumber.
Raleigh.
$63,000
median salary, at the national average
$49,000 to $82,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
Raleigh is 1% cheaper than the national average. For Plumbers, that shakes out to a median of $63,000, with the full range spanning $49,000 to $82,000. Licensed master plumbers earn 25 to 35% more than journeymen, with commercial and industrial specialization pushing pay to the top of the range. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Plumber in Raleigh, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $60,540 for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 2,810 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$42,940
25th percentile
$48,370
Median
$60,540
75th percentile
$70,010
90th percentile
$77,610
Workers surveyed
2,810
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) rather than Plumber specifically. The Raleigh range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 47-2152Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $57,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$41,000
to $50,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$54,000
to $66,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$69,000
to $82,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$79,000
to $98,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $16,000 to the total package.
Base
$63,000
Equity
$9,000
Bonus
$6,000
Signing
$1,000
Estimated total: $79,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$63,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$63,000
Same as local rate
Plumber salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
Here is what the Plumber market actually looks like in Raleigh. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Licensed master plumbers earn 25 to 35% more than journeymen, with commercial and industrial specialization pushing pay to the top of the range. Plumbers who handle gas line work, backflow prevention, or medical gas systems command premium rates. Union membership in major metro areas provides the strongest wage floors.
Apprentice plumbers start at $32,000 to $40,000 during their four to five year apprenticeship. Journeymen earn $46,000 to $65,000, while master plumbers reach $65,000 to $85,000. Plumbing contractors who run their own businesses can earn $90,000 to $150,000 or more. In Raleigh, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Union plumbers receive health insurance, pension contributions, and annuity funds worth $15,000 to $25,000 annually on top of wages. Overtime during emergency calls can add $8,000 to $15,000 per year, especially for on-call residential specialists. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $63,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for Plumbers in Raleigh runs from $49,000 to $82,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Surgical Technologist in Raleigh earns $64,000 (2% more)
- The highest-paying role in Raleigh is CTO at $291,000
Common questions.
Plumber salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Raleigh.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Plumbers in Raleigh.
Related tools.
Do you work as a plumber in Raleigh?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Plumber Salary in Raleigh, NC." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/plumber/raleigh
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools