Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Plumber vs Solar PV Installer
Plumbers earn a national median of $69,782 versus $53,971 for Solar PV Installers, a gap of $15,811 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Plumbers have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +22% for Solar PV Installers.
How These Trades Stack Up
Plumbers out-earn Solar PV Installers on national median by $15,811 — $69,782 versus $53,971, or about 29% more. That gap reflects differences in apprenticeship length, certification requirements, industry concentration, and union footprint between the two trades.
Solar PV Installers have grown faster — +22% 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.
Solar PV Installers typically complete a 2-year apprenticeship while Plumbers require 4 years. The longer pathway usually translates into higher journeyman pay and stronger licensure protection, but it also delays full earnings; the shorter pathway delivers faster income at typically lower medians.
Plumber
Plumbing · 4yr apprenticeship
Solar PV Installer
Electrical · 2yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | Plumber | Solar PV Installer | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR | $100,110 | $59,830 | +$40,280 |
| New York, NY | $79,420 | $61,140 | +$18,280 |
| Kansas City, MO | $72,600 | $57,200 | +$15,400 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $72,580 | $54,380 | +$18,200 |
| San Francisco, CA | $71,700 | $70,390 | +$1,310 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $65,110 | $59,660 | +$5,450 |
| Denver, CO | $64,300 | $51,860 | +$12,440 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $63,780 | $38,650 | +$25,130 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $62,680 | $51,540 | +$11,140 |
| Dallas, TX | $60,370 | $41,050 | +$19,320 |
| Houston, TX | $60,230 | $46,020 | +$14,210 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $59,640 | $66,070 | -$6,430 |
| Miami, FL | $56,170 | $48,930 | +$7,240 |
| Tampa, FL | $52,280 | $48,870 | +$3,410 |
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 Plumbers or Solar PV Installers make more money?
Plumbers earn more on national median — $69,782 versus $53,971, a gap of $15,811 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?
Solar PV Installers have posted faster wage growth at +22% 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?
Plumbers typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Solar PV Installers typically complete a 2-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
Plumbers have 189,520 workers employed nationally; Solar PV Installers have 10,350. 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 Plumber and Solar PV Installer 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/.
Plumbers earn a national median of $69,782 versus $53,971 for Solar PV Installers, a gap of $15,811 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Plumbers have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +22% for Solar PV Installers.
The side-by-side above pulls the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, 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 entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.