Journeyman Plumber (Commercial)
We place this role between $55,000 and $82,000 a year at mid experience, before overtime, bonus and on-call.
What this role pays.
That band is mid experience, built from our own engagement history. Experience and region move it - the salary calculator applies both.
The federal occupation this role reports under is Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152), May 2025. Nationally it reports a median of $63,800 , with the middle of the market between $44,150 and $108,420. BLS counts this job inside that occupation rather than publishing it separately, so the figures cover a slightly wider group than this exact title.
Where it pays most.
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters across the metros we cover, May 2025. BLS publishes a median for 112 of them and withholds the rest, where the local sample was too small to be reliable.
| Metro | Median | Employed there |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | $107,560 | 3,830 |
| Chicago | $103,380 | 12,750 |
| Minneapolis | $101,630 | 6,730 |
| Portland | $101,010 | 4,600 |
| Boston | $96,760 | 9,200 |
| Seattle | $95,230 | 6,350 |
| Detroit | $86,370 | 5,520 |
| Madison | $85,160 | 1,590 |
| McAllen | $46,110 | 360 |
| Myrtle Beach | $48,340 | 460 |
| Little Rock | $49,190 | 890 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The last three rows are the lowest-paying metros in the same set. Headcount is metro-wide across every industry, not this trade alone.
Journeyman Plumber (Commercial) vs Master Plumber.
Both are licensed. The difference is which licence carries the permit: in most states it is the master's, which is why a shop can run a dozen journeymen behind one or two masters. The work itself is the same trade - rough-in, fixture setting, repair, and on commercial jobs the medical gas and backflow endorsements the building type demands. What changes at master level is legal responsibility and the paperwork attached to it, not the pipe.
Credentials that move an offer.
- State License
- Medical Gas
Licensing is a state question, not a national one. The Commercial Plumbing hiring page carries the state-by-state position, and every market page names the authority for that state.
What the search actually takes.
We have closed 4 commercial plumbing searches in 2026 year to date, which is below the 8 we require before publishing a median. We would rather print the count than a number the sample cannot carry. The Hiring Index shows what we do and do not have.
Keep reading.
- 2026 Commercial Plumbing Salary Guide - the full benchmark by role.
- Commercial Plumbing recruiting - how we run this trade.
- Salary calculator - the band by experience and region.
- Commercial Plumbing hiring in Houston - one market in detail.
- Hiring Index - how long our searches actually take.
Other Commercial Plumbing roles we recruit
All 56 roles we recruit - every trade, every seat.