Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $50K, rent takes 27.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $910/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters typically earn — is $43K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,571/month. At HUD’s $910/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 22% below the national median — $50K here vs. $64K nationally. Cost of living is 12% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Jefferson City pays $50K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s -22%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 87.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $56K — below the national median.

The median is $49,560 a year, that works out to about $24 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $42,850, and experienced plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters can clear $101,210. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,358/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $910/month, which eats 27.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Jefferson City has a Regional Price Parity of 87.97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters salary is worth about $56,337 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.