Skilled Trades salary guide

Salary Needed for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Pennsylvania

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Pennsylvania: compare salary needs with estimated annual costs. Basic costs are about $43,843, while a 20% cushion is about $52,612.

Updated with BLS OEWS source metadata from May 2025; cost estimates reflect current WatchPennies county-level data.

Salary adequacy in Pennsylvania

WatchPennies compares plumber, pipefitter, or steamfitter salary context with statewide median county costs for a single adult household. The comfort target adds a 20% cushion for savings, emergencies, and month-to-month variation.

Baseline annual costs

$43,843

About $3,654 per month.

Comfort salary target

$52,612

About $4,384 per month.

OEWS median salary

$68,080

Adequacy versus comfort target: 129%.

The available salary benchmark is $15,468 above the WatchPennies comfort target for Pennsylvania.

Housing21%
Food9%
Transport30%
Healthcare12%
Other Costs9%
Taxes18%

More Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters states

Compare salary-needed targets for this occupation across all states.

Pennsylvania cost of living

See county rankings, housing, food, healthcare, taxes, and transportation costs.

Compare counties

Model a salary and family type across two counties before moving.

Common questions

What salary is needed for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Pennsylvania?

WatchPennies estimates baseline annual costs around $43,843 for a single adult household in Pennsylvania. A 20% comfort cushion is about $52,612.

Does this page use an official Pennsylvania wage benchmark?

Yes. The occupation wage benchmark on this page is imported from BLS OEWS.

What costs are included in the salary-needed estimate?

The estimate includes housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare where applicable, other necessities, taxes, and income context from WatchPennies cost data.

Sources

Wage benchmark fields are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025, last modified 2026-05-15). Cost estimates use WatchPennies county cost data for housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, necessities, taxes, and income context.