Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Plumber Salary in Milwaukee
2024 BLS OEWS Data · Plumbing · COL Index: 96
Plumbers in Milwaukee, WI earn a median annual wage of $82,080 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $50,070 and the 90th at $121,260. After cost of living, that translates to $85,500 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (73/100).
What Plumbers Take Home in Milwaukee
The $71,190 spread between entry-level and top-decile plumbers in Milwaukee is around 87% of the median — a typical range for skilled trades. Workers can roughly double their entry pay through a combination of experience, certifications, union membership, and moving from helper to journeyman to foreman roles.
Milwaukee's cost-of-living index of 96 is within a few points of the U.S. average, so the $82,080 median for plumbers here translates almost directly into real purchasing power — roughly $85,500 in U.S.-average terms. What you see is what you take home, with no significant adjustment up or down.
With a Trade Pay Score of 73 (B), plumbers in Milwaukee land in the strong second tier. Pay, growth, and purchasing power are all solid but one factor — usually wage growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay — keeps the score below the A threshold. For most workers, B-graded combinations are perfectly reasonable career choices.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Level | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Apprentice / Entry) | $50,070 | $52,156 |
| 25th Percentile (Early Career) | $62,750 | $65,365 |
| 50th Percentile (Journeyman / Median) | $82,080 | $85,500 |
| 75th Percentile (Experienced) | $102,810 | $107,094 |
| 90th Percentile (Master / Foreman) | $121,260 | $126,313 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure here comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — a survey of about 1.2 million employers per release covering more than 800 occupations and every U.S. metropolitan statistical area. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade. Read the full methodology.
Career outlook detail — projected 2032 employment levels for plumbers, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in Milwaukee are listed at apprenticeship.gov. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Plumber make in Milwaukee?
Per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the median plumber salary in Milwaukee, WI is $82,080. The 10th percentile is $50,070 (typical for entry-level or apprentice-tier positions); the 90th percentile reaches $121,260 (master, foreman, or specialty roles).
How does Milwaukee pay compare for Plumbers?
With a Trade Pay Score of 73/100 and a grade of B, the Milwaukee-Plumber pairing is a strong combination but with one factor (usually growth or cost-of-living-adjusted real pay) holding it back from an A grade.
What is the apprenticeship path for Plumbers in Milwaukee?
Plumbers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay, starting around the 10th percentile ($50,070) and progressing toward the median. Registered apprenticeship programs in the area are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
How does cost of living affect Plumber pay in Milwaukee?
Milwaukee has a cost-of-living index of 96. The median plumber salary of $82,080 translates to $85,500 in U.S.-average purchasing power — an upward adjustment because the metro is less expensive than average.
Where does this salary data come from?
Every wage figure on this page is a real BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median or percentile from the 2024 release at https://www.bls.gov/oes/, which surveys roughly 1.2 million U.S. employers per release. Career outlook context (projected employment growth through 2032) comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Both are public-domain U.S. government data sources.
Plumbers in Milwaukee, WI earn a median annual wage of $82,080 per 2024 BLS OEWS data, with the 10th percentile at $50,070 and the 90th at $121,260. After cost of living, that translates to $85,500 in U.S.-average purchasing power. Trade Pay Score: B (73/100).
The this entity record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. trades, cities, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.