Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Electrician vs Plumber
Electricians earn a national median of $70,935 versus $69,782 for Plumbers, a gap of $1,153 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Electricians have posted +11% 5-year wage growth versus +6% for Plumbers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Electrician and Plumber pay roughly the same on national median — $70,935 versus $69,782, a gap of less than $1,153. For most workers, the choice between the two trades will hinge on apprenticeship length, work environment, and personal interest rather than pay.
Electricians have grown faster — +11% over five years versus +6% for Plumbers. Sustained growth gaps of this size can compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career, so workers comparing the two trades should weigh growth alongside the headline median.
Both trades follow a 4-year apprenticeship pathway — paid on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, registered through the U.S. Department of Labor at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/. Apprentice pay typically scales from roughly 40% of journeyman wage in year one to 95% by the final year.
Electrician
Electrical · 4yr apprenticeship
Plumber
Plumbing · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Electrician | Plumber | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR | $102,070 | $100,110 | +$1,960 |
| Seattle, WA | $101,600 | $87,160 | +$14,440 |
| Chicago, IL | $99,540 | $98,890 | +$650 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $95,090 | $97,020 | -$1,930 |
| San Francisco, CA | $93,750 | $71,700 | +$22,050 |
| Boston, MA | $83,450 | $83,640 | -$190 |
| Detroit, MI | $80,330 | $81,480 | -$1,150 |
| St. Louis, MO | $79,280 | $73,060 | +$6,220 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $76,820 | $82,080 | -$5,260 |
| New York, NY | $76,450 | $79,420 | -$2,970 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $76,120 | $65,110 | +$11,010 |
| Kansas City, MO | $74,560 | $72,600 | +$1,960 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $74,040 | $72,580 | +$1,460 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $64,950 | $59,640 | +$5,310 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $64,120 | $63,780 | +$340 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $63,890 | $66,930 | -$3,040 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $63,430 | $66,090 | -$2,660 |
| Columbus, OH | $63,160 | $63,600 | -$440 |
| Denver, CO | $63,010 | $64,300 | -$1,290 |
| Nashville, TN | $61,130 | $59,870 | +$1,260 |
| New Orleans, LA | $60,840 | $64,340 | -$3,500 |
| Atlanta, GA | $60,400 | $58,690 | +$1,710 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $59,940 | $62,680 | -$2,740 |
| Houston, TX | $59,180 | $60,230 | -$1,050 |
| Dallas, TX | $57,760 | $60,370 | -$2,610 |
| Miami, FL | $56,080 | $56,170 | -$90 |
| Charlotte, NC | $55,790 | $55,550 | +$240 |
| Raleigh, NC | $54,820 | $55,560 | -$740 |
| Tampa, FL | $53,790 | $52,280 | +$1,510 |
| San Antonio, TX | $52,650 | $58,530 | -$5,880 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Electricians or Plumbers make more money?
Electricians earn more on national median — $70,935 versus $69,782, a gap of $1,153 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
Electricians have posted faster wage growth at +11% versus +6% for Plumbers. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
Electricians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Plumbers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Electricians have 309,770 workers employed nationally; Plumbers have 189,520. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both Electrician and Plumber are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Electricians earn a national median of $70,935 versus $69,782 for Plumbers, a gap of $1,153 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Electricians have posted +11% 5-year wage growth versus +6% for Plumbers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both Electrician and Plumber. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Electrician versus Plumber, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual Electrician and Plumber detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.