Career Training Path › Plumbing schools
Plumbing schools
If you finish a plumbing program and work as a plumber or pipefitter, expect to start around $44,150–$50,190 a year and reach the trade's median of $63,800 with experience; the top quarter earn $85,110 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). There are 146 accredited campuses offering it; their graduates' actual first-year median, counting every graduate whatever job they took, was $30,730, with median debt of $9,500.
What you'd earn working as a plumber or pipefitter
Annual wages for the 465,840 people employed as plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters nationally — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. This is the figure to plan around if you intend to work in the trade.
How pay grows in this trade
Getting in: A certificate helps, but licensure comes through a 4–5 year apprenticeship (union UA or open shop) and the state journeyman exam.
- Apprentice pay steps up yearly; journeyman license after the required hours; master plumber after further experience.
- Medical gas, backflow, and pipefitting/steamfitting certifications pay above the median.
- A master license plus a contractor's license lets you run your own shop, where the top earners are.
Typical time to mid-career pay: 4–5 (apprenticeship) years. Licensing and apprenticeship rules vary by state and employer — verify with your state board before enrolling.
What graduates of these programs actually earned
Federal College Scorecard medians for every federally aided graduate of these programs, whatever job they took after finishing — including part-time work, apprentice wages and work outside the trade. That is why they sit below the trade's wage ladder above. Use them to compare schools against each other, not to judge what the career pays.
Find plumbing programs by state
19 campuses · $30,631 yr-1 pay Pennsylvania
12 campuses · $25,043 yr-1 pay Minnesota
8 campuses · $91,570 yr-1 pay Texas
8 campuses Wisconsin
8 campuses North Carolina
7 campuses Maine
6 campuses Utah
6 campuses California
5 campuses Alabama
4 campuses Arizona
4 campuses Georgia
4 campuses Iowa
4 campuses Kentucky
4 campuses Ohio
4 campuses Tennessee
4 campuses · $21,458 yr-1 pay Connecticut
3 campuses · $32,769 yr-1 pay Kansas
3 campuses Michigan
3 campuses New Jersey
3 campuses · $25,693 yr-1 pay New York
3 campuses · $30,329 yr-1 pay Illinois
2 campuses · $63,469 yr-1 pay Mississippi
2 campuses Nebraska
2 campuses Oklahoma
2 campuses Puerto Rico
2 campuses · $20,925 yr-1 pay South Dakota
2 campuses Arkansas
1 campuses Delaware
1 campuses Indiana
1 campuses · $83,350 yr-1 pay Louisiana
1 campuses Massachusetts
1 campuses Missouri
1 campuses Montana
1 campuses North Dakota
1 campuses New Mexico
1 campuses Nevada
1 campuses Oregon
1 campuses Rhode Island
1 campuses South Carolina
1 campuses Washington
1 campuses
Where plumbing graduates earn the most
Median program-level earnings one year after completion, states with 3+ reporting programs. Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.
Public vs. non-profit vs. for-profit plumbing schools
| School type | Campuses | Median earnings, yr 1 | Median debt | Avg completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public | 128 | $51,871 | not reported | 47% |
| Private non-profit | 6 | $24,204 | $7,521 | 67% |
| Private for-profit | 12 | $29,830 | $9,500 | 75% |
How to choose a plumbing program
- Check accreditation first. Every campus listed here is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or awarded federally reported credentials. Each profile names the accreditor and links to the federal record.
- Compare completion, not just tuition. A cheap program that half the class never finishes costs more than it looks. Profiles show each campus's completion rate against its state average.
- Look at earnings a year out, by program. The Scorecard reports median earnings for graduates of this specific program at this specific campus where cohorts are large enough. That is the number to compare, not national averages.
- Ask about federal aid. "Title IV eligible: Yes" means FAFSA, Pell Grants and federal loans apply. Many also accept GI Bill and WIOA funding — ask.
- Verify state licensing where it applies. Trades like plumbing may need a state license or certification after the program; the school should say which exam its graduates sit.
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
"What the trade pays" is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025): annual wages for everyone employed in the occupation nationally, at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles. The 10th–25th percentile band is a fair guide to entry-level pay; the 75th–90th to experienced workers. Program earnings (above) are lower because they count every graduate of the program in their first year, including part-time work, apprentice wages and jobs outside the trade.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026), the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions survey, and the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP). Figures are federal medians and means for campuses in this program group; "not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy (small cohorts) — never an estimate.