Plumber Apprentice Salary

A first-year plumber apprentice typically earns $16 to $22 per hour, or roughly $33,300 to $45,800 per year. Published union scales sit inside that range rather than above it: Plumbers Local 130 Chicago starts apprentices at $21.10 an hour and Plumbers Local 1 NYC at $19.00, both stepping up at six months. Note that the share of journeyman scale this represents is lower than the 40 to 50 percent usually quoted, because union journeyman wages are well above the national average: $21.10 is 34 percent of Local 130's $62.00 journeyman wage. Non-union apprentices in low-union-density states start toward the bottom of the range.

A second-year plumber apprentice typically earns $19 to $26 per hour, or roughly $39,500 to $54,100 per year, at about 50 to 60 percent of journeyman scale. Second-year work adds residential rough-in, drain/waste/vent systems, and soldering, and the pay rises through twice-yearly wage-tier bumps under most apprenticeship agreements.

A third-year plumber apprentice typically earns $23 to $30 per hour, or roughly $47,800 to $62,400 per year, at about 60 to 75 percent of journeyman scale. By year three the apprentice is handling commercial plumbing, gas line work, and code compliance, often running simple jobs solo with periodic check-ins.

A fourth-year plumber apprentice typically earns $26 to $34 per hour, or roughly $54,100 to $70,700 per year, at about 70 to 85 percent of journeyman scale. Fourth-year apprentices troubleshoot independently, handle advanced repairs, and interact directly with customers.

A fifth-year plumber apprentice typically earns $28 to $38 per hour, or roughly $58,200 to $79,000 per year, at about 80 to 95 percent of journeyman scale. Year five is journeyman-exam prep; on passing the state journeyman exam the apprentice graduates to full journeyman scale. In the strongest union markets that scale is well above the national average: Local 130 Chicago publishes $62.00 an hour, Local 1 NYC $78.05, and the California prevailing-wage determination for San Francisco $94.00.