How much do plumbers, pipefitters & steamfitters make in Chicago?

From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release — an employer survey covering millions of workers. Worker-submitted figures come from tradespeople who anonymously shared their pay on this site. Every figure is labeled with its source.

The median is the middle of the pay scale: half of plumbers, pipefitters & steamfitters in Chicago earn more, half earn less. The mean is the arithmetic average, which a few very high earners can pull upward. When comparing job offers, the median is the more useful number.

They mark points on the pay scale. Ten percent of workers earn less than p10. A quarter earn less than p25 and a quarter earn more than p75. Ten percent earn more than p90. The p25–p75 range covers the middle half of workers — a realistic band for experienced hires.

The median hourly pay for plumbers, pipefitters & steamfitters in Chicago is up 4.5% compared with May 2024, according to BLS OEWS. That is the official year-over-year change; worker-submitted rates reflect more recent conditions. The BLS publishes new wage data once a year, so this is the latest official comparison available.

It measures how concentrated a trade is in a metro area. Chicago employs 0.9× as many plumbers, pipefitters & steamfitters per capita as the US average. Above 1.0 means the trade is over-represented locally; below 1.0 means under-represented. The figure comes from BLS OEWS May 2025.

BLS annual figures assume full-time, year-round work: 40 hours a week times 52 weeks, or 2,080 hours. The annual number is the hourly rate multiplied by 2,080. Overtime, bonuses, and unpaid time off are not included, so actual take-home pay varies with hours worked.

The official figures are from BLS OEWS May 2025, the latest full release — the BLS publishes new wage data once a year, usually the following spring. Worker-submitted rates update continuously as people add them, and reflect current conditions more quickly than the annual survey.

Use the Add your rate form — it takes about 30 seconds and asks for no name, email, or account. Your trade, metro, experience, and pay are all you enter. Submissions are reviewed before they appear publicly on the matching rate pages.