Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
47-3015 Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Construction laborers who do not primarily assist plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers are classified under “Construction Laborers” (47-2061). Apprentice workers are classified with the appropriate skilled construction trade occupation (47-2011 through 47-2231).
National estimates for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Industry profile for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Geographic profile for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
National estimates for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 45,300 |
3.1 % |
$ 18.97 |
$ 39,460 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 14.32 |
$ 16.50 |
$ 18.10 |
$ 21.22 |
$ 24.48 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 29,780 |
$ 34,320 |
$ 37,650 |
$ 44,140 |
$ 50,920 |
Industry profile for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Building Equipment Contractors |
38,240 |
1.57 |
$ 18.75 |
$ 39,000 |
| Utility System Construction |
2,080 |
0.36 |
$ 20.10 |
$ 41,800 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction |
1,290 |
0.15 |
$ 22.57 |
$ 46,950 |
| Other Specialty Trade Contractors |
530 |
0.07 |
$ 17.91 |
$ 37,240 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
470 |
0.05 |
$ 17.93 |
$ 37,300 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Top paying industries for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Geographic profile for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
8,700 |
0.64 |
2.15 |
$ 18.67 |
$ 38,830 |
| Florida |
5,490 |
0.57 |
1.92 |
$ 18.88 |
$ 39,280 |
| North Carolina |
3,310 |
0.69 |
2.31 |
$ 18.74 |
$ 38,990 |
| New York |
2,820 |
0.30 |
1.01 |
$ 19.26 |
$ 40,050 |
| California |
2,570 |
0.14 |
0.48 |
$ 22.82 |
$ 47,470 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Louisiana |
1,560 |
0.84 |
2.82 |
$ 18.47 |
$ 38,410 |
| Oklahoma |
1,160 |
0.70 |
2.34 |
$ 17.47 |
$ 36,340 |
| North Carolina |
3,310 |
0.69 |
2.31 |
$ 18.74 |
$ 38,990 |
| New Mexico |
580 |
0.69 |
2.31 |
$ 18.18 |
$ 37,810 |
| Texas |
8,700 |
0.64 |
2.15 |
$ 18.67 |
$ 38,830 |
Top paying states for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
90 |
0.15 |
0.51 |
$ 25.38 |
$ 52,790 |
| Alaska |
80 |
0.27 |
0.90 |
$ 24.70 |
$ 51,380 |
| Minnesota |
130 |
0.05 |
0.15 |
$ 23.74 |
$ 49,370 |
| Wyoming |
60 |
0.23 |
0.79 |
$ 23.41 |
$ 48,690 |
| District of Columbia |
60 |
0.08 |
0.27 |
$ 23.07 |
$ 47,980 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
2,640 |
0.28 |
0.93 |
$ 19.70 |
$ 40,980 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,400 |
0.60 |
2.03 |
$ 19.10 |
$ 39,720 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,310 |
0.73 |
2.43 |
$ 19.73 |
$ 41,040 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,130 |
0.37 |
1.22 |
$ 21.19 |
$ 44,060 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
930 |
0.33 |
1.11 |
$ 18.86 |
$ 39,230 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL |
860 |
0.61 |
2.05 |
$ 18.56 |
$ 38,610 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
860 |
0.32 |
1.06 |
$ 19.38 |
$ 40,310 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
770 |
0.59 |
1.96 |
$ 19.80 |
$ 41,180 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL |
740 |
0.54 |
1.81 |
$ 18.96 |
$ 39,440 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX |
730 |
0.67 |
2.25 |
$ 17.70 |
$ 36,810 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Longview, TX |
140 |
1.47 |
4.92 |
$ 18.50 |
$ 38,480 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL |
410 |
1.42 |
4.76 |
$ 19.04 |
$ 39,610 |
| Burlington, NC |
90 |
1.36 |
4.55 |
$ 18.81 |
$ 39,120 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX |
210 |
1.34 |
4.49 |
$ 21.27 |
$ 44,240 |
| Corpus Christi, TX |
240 |
1.31 |
4.38 |
$ 20.47 |
$ 42,580 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
120 |
1.28 |
4.30 |
$ 17.84 |
$ 37,100 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA |
190 |
1.14 |
3.81 |
$ 19.15 |
$ 39,820 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC |
400 |
1.13 |
3.79 |
$ 18.79 |
$ 39,090 |
| Victoria, TX |
40 |
1.08 |
3.64 |
$ 18.47 |
$ 38,410 |
| Wilmington, NC |
150 |
1.05 |
3.53 |
$ 19.07 |
$ 39,670 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Anchorage, AK |
50 |
0.30 |
0.99 |
$ 27.90 |
$ 58,030 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
430 |
0.18 |
0.60 |
$ 26.88 |
$ 55,900 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
40 |
0.10 |
0.33 |
$ 24.72 |
$ 51,410 |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA |
80 |
0.32 |
1.06 |
$ 24.61 |
$ 51,190 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
100 |
0.12 |
0.40 |
$ 24.25 |
$ 50,450 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
130 |
0.07 |
0.22 |
$ 23.79 |
$ 49,490 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
280 |
0.14 |
0.45 |
$ 23.60 |
$ 49,080 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
60 |
0.32 |
1.06 |
$ 23.24 |
$ 48,340 |
| Pittsburgh, PA |
160 |
0.15 |
0.49 |
$ 21.62 |
$ 44,960 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 21.61 |
$ 44,960 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
