Plumbers vs Electricians: Who Gets Paid More? (Complete Overview)
This article will explore the differences in hourly and annual salaries between plumbers and electricians. They are two of the most popular career choices for people who want to work in trades. But which is the better option when it comes to the paycheck?
On average, an electrician will have a marginally higher salary than a plumber according to labor statistics. While an electrician will be earning $56.900, a plumber makes $56.330 per year. However, when subcategorized into different industries, the highest-earning electrician will get paid $5910 more than the highest-earning plumber.
In this article, we will dive deeper into the differences in pay for electricians and plumbers. Because even though the salaries are mostly similar, differences can be found in particular industries in each trade. These options will also be further explored. But first, you will be introduced to statistical facts about the salary of electricians and plumbers.
How Much Does an Electrician Get Paid?
When searching the web, a reader will be exposed to all kinds of claims, promises, and shiny objects. But what are the true numbers, really? If we want to make an objective statement of, how much an electrician makes, we will have to look up some statistics. Here is the average pay of a standard electrician measured on an annual basis and per hour:
- How much an electrician earn anually: $56.900
- How much an electrician earn per hour: $27,36
These numbers are the median pay (average) of all electricians working in the trade. Different sectors and industries of an electrician also provide differences in salary. Divided into industries, this is how much an electrician earn:
- Electricians working for the government: $64.490
- Electricians working in manufacturing: $61.510
- Electricians working for a contractor: $55.170
- Electricians working with employment services: $50.110
As these numbers reveal, the industries offer vast differences in salary for electricians. When choosing a career path as an electrician, the option of working in a government setting would be preferable, if you want to have a higher chance of a larger paycheck. In this next section, the average hourly and annual salaries for plumbers will be explained.
Also Read: What type of electrician makes the most amount of money?
How Much Does a Plumber Get Paid?
As previously mentioned, a plumber will on average earn mostly the same as an electrician. Again, people working in this trade will have other options than receiving the salary of a standard plumber. The following are the general hourly and annual pay for plumbers across all industries.
- How much a plumber earn anually: $56.330
- How much a plumber earn per hour: $27,08
These are the medium salaries for plumbers in all categories. If we look at the various sectors a plumber can choose to work in, we see some other options for achieving a different pay than the standard plumber.
- Manufacturing: $58.580
- Government: $58.260
- Construction: $56.840
- HVAC: $55.620
Even though the salary for plumbers doesn’t vary as much as the sectors for electricians, a plumber still has some options to make more money in different industries. In this next chapter, the different industries for electricians and plumbers will be compared. In this way, we can get an even better understanding of the differences in salaries between electricians and plumbers.
Who Gets Paid More? (A Detailed Overview)
We have already established, that an electrician will on average be pulling home a little extra money on a grand scale. But what if we compare the different industries of an electrician and a plumber? If we glance over the different sectors for these two trades, some particular numbers stand out in a big way. The following table is showing the different annual salaries for plumbers and electricians measured in the various industries.
| Electrician (Government) | $64.490 |
| Electrician (Manufacturing) | $61.510 |
| Plumber (Manufacturing) | $58.580 |
| Plumber (Government) | $58.260 |
| Electrician (Average Salary) | $56.900 |
| Plumber (Construction) | $56.840 |
| Plumber (Average Salary) | $56.330 |
| Plumber (HVAC) | $55.620 |
| Electrician (Contractors) | $55.170 |
| Electrician (Employment Services) | $50.110 |
When comparing the different industries for electricians and plumbers, electricians are by far the highest earner of the two respectable trades. The highest-earning electricians working in the government have a notable lead with a margin of $5910 down to the nearest highest-earning plumber.
We can also conclude from these numbers, that electricians in the category of contractors (working for contractors) and employment services have the lowest annual salary. One can also conclude that plumbers will on average get paid approximately the same, while electricians have a much larger range in salaries by contrast to the industry, that they are working in.
- Total range in annual salary for plumbers: $2960
- Total range in annual salary for electricians: $14380
As these numbers have shown us when diving deep into the different sectors, electricians will have the opportunity to earn a much higher salary than plumbers. It is therefore important to also take into account these factors, as they can reveal some big insights, that the data on the average pay for electricians and plumbers doesn’t provide us with.
Final Thoughts on Differences in Pay For Plumbers and Electricians
By looking at the statistics, electricians will on average be earning a tiny bit more than a plumber. Also, when analyzing the salary for plumbers and electricians in different industries, electricians will have the chance to earn more on an annual basis.
Also Read: Is being an electrician stressful?
When dividing electrical jobs into different industries, there seems to be a large pay gap between the highest-earning and the lowest-earning electrician. For example, an electrician working for a contractor will on average earn a lot less than an electrician working in a government setting. An electrician will therefore need to choose a sector, that gives the highest chance of a larger paycheck, to earn more than a plumber.
The range of the salaries for plumbers in various sectors is on the other hand much lower. This also means that a plumber will on a grand scale be earning roughly the same.
This article has explored these differences in the pay of plumbers and electricians, which concludes that electrician has a higher chance of bringing home the big money. However, additional subcategories of the industries could obviously be taken into account, to provide an even further in-depth analysis of the differences in pay. These other options will largely be determined by an individual’s specific geographic location, circumstances, and opportunities.