Plumber salary UK 2026: average pay, hourly rate and take-home
The average plumber salary is £38,337. Compare gross and estimated after-tax monthly pay, rough employee hourly-rate equivalents, and employed versus self-employed earnings.
How to read the official plumber salary figure
A plumber's advertised day rate is not the same as an employee salary. This page uses the ONS figures for full-time employee jobs in plumbing, heating and ventilation installation and repair. It leaves out self-employed turnover, materials, vehicle costs, unpaid time and business profit. That boundary makes the result much more useful for someone comparing a permanent role or checking an employed salary.
Typical pay is close to the typical full-time UK pay, while the lower and higher published points show a sizeable range. Qualifications, gas work, call-outs, overtime and the type of employer can all make a real difference. The ONS does not publish the top 10% figure for this occupation, so this page stops at the highest available point rather than guessing.
Which plumbing jobs this salary page covers
The ONS figure covers employed plumbing, heating and ventilation installation and repair. It does not turn a self-employed day rate or business turnover into a salary.
Good fit for this page
- Employed plumbers and heating installers
- Maintenance and repair roles in homes, businesses or public buildings
- Full-time employee jobs in plumbing, heating and ventilation
Use a different comparison for
- Self-employed revenue before materials and business costs
- A general builder who only completes occasional plumbing work
- Gas work carried out without the registration required for that work
Lower, typical and higher plumber pay
Only £2,271 separates the median from the published 60th percentile. A quick glance cannot show where your own pay sits inside that band or how close you are to the next salary point.
- Lower pay10th percentile£24,916
- Lower-middle pay25th percentile£31,656
- Typical payMedian£37,881
- Higher pay75th percentile£45,451
Moving from the median to the published 60th percentile is £2,271 gross a year, or about £136 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Place your employed plumber salary on the official pay range, then see take-home pay and True Wage after travel, call-outs and work costs.
From the median to the published 60th percentile is £2,271 gross a year, worth about £136 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Every published plumber salary point
See every published salary point
| Pay point | Annual salary | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £24,916 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 20th percentile | £29,582 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 25th percentile | £31,656 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 30th percentile | £32,861 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 40th percentile | £35,165 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| Median | £37,881 | The published midpoint |
| 60th percentile | £40,152 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 70th percentile | £43,979 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 75th percentile | £45,451 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 80th percentile | £47,330 | Above the occupation midpoint |
The paid report estimates a position between two published points. It does not claim an exact ranking of every worker.
Plumber salary per month and after tax
At the average plumber salary of £38,337, gross pay is about £3,195 a month. A standard 2026/27 estimate gives plumber take-home pay of about £2,594 a month after tax and employee National Insurance. The ONS median remains £37,881 and is shown in the detailed pay range below.
The estimate uses the standard Personal Allowance, Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and employee National Insurance. It does not include pension, student loan, salary sacrifice or a different tax code. Scottish Income Tax is different.
Average plumber salary and the wider pay range
The lower published point is £24,916, the typical salary is £37,881, and the highest published point, the 80th percentile is £47,330.
The employee figures cover a broad mix of plumbing and heating work. A specialist role with regular call-outs may sit well above the middle, while a more junior or narrowly defined job may sit below it. For self-employed work, compare profit after business costs rather than headline revenue.
Plumber hourly rates, starting pay and self-employed earnings
Employee salary, an hourly wage and the rate charged to a customer measure different things. The annual ONS figures are useful for employed plumbers, but they should not be treated as business turnover or a quoted call-out rate.
Plumber hourly rate
Dividing the £37,881 median by a full working year gives a rough employee equivalent of £19.43 an hour at 37.5 hours a week, or £18.21 at 40 hours. This is not the hourly rate a plumbing business charges a customer.
Starting and qualified plumber salary
The £24,916 10th-percentile point shows the lower end of full-time employee pay, but it is not an official apprentice or starting salary. Qualification, gas registration, heating work, call-outs and overtime all affect the comparison.
Self-employed plumber salary
There is no directly comparable self-employed plumber salary in this employee table. Turnover and quoted rates must first cover materials, vehicle costs, insurance, tools, unpaid time, tax and other business expenses before they become personal income.
Useful next step: compare salary with your real hourly wage, including travel, unpaid time and work costs.
What usually changes plumber pay
Plumbing jobs range from planned installation to urgent repair, and from domestic bathrooms to large building systems. The published range reflects a trade where the work, hours and qualifications can change sharply from one employer to another.
Plumbing, heating or ventilation
A role focused on basic installation is different from one covering boilers, plant rooms, ventilation or complex building services.
Gas and specialist registration
Domestic gas work requires Gas Safe registration. Specialist heating knowledge can change the jobs a plumber is allowed and trusted to complete.
Emergency call-outs
Broken boilers, leaks and blocked drains can create evening, weekend and bank-holiday work. Treat call-out earnings as variable unless the contract guarantees them.
Low-carbon heating
Heat pumps, solar hot water and modern controls are becoming a larger part of heating work and can create a different route from traditional repair and installation.
How plumbing work and careers develop
The National Careers Service describes plumbers as installing and repairing water, heating and drainage systems, joining pipes, servicing heating systems and responding to emergency call-outs. The work can take place in homes, commercial property, hospitals and construction sites.
People commonly enter through college, an apprenticeship or by starting as a plumber’s mate and training on the job. Site work may require a CSCS card or equivalent, while domestic gas heating work requires Gas Safe registration.
Experience can lead towards specialist heating, ventilation, supervision, estimating or self-employment. When comparing those routes, remember that an employee salary includes paid leave and usually a pension, while self-employed income must cover the van, tools, insurance, admin and unpaid gaps.
What to check in a plumber offer
A good comparison separates basic pay, variable call-outs and costs that would otherwise come out of your own pocket.
- Is the role mainly plumbing, heating, gas, ventilation or a mix?
- How are call-outs, standby, overtime and weekends paid?
- Does the employer provide the van, fuel, tools, uniform and training?
- For self-employed work, what profit remains after materials, insurance, travel, admin and unpaid time?
Where the salary and industry information comes from
The pay figures are from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14, 2025 provisional edition. They cover full-time employee jobs, and annual figures normally relate to people who have been in the same job for more than one year. They do not cover self-employed people.
| Official job group | Plumbers and heating and ventilating installers and repairers |
|---|---|
| Quality | ONS rates this estimate precise (CV of 5% or less). The published median CV is 3.4%. In plain English, this is one of the more dependable ONS estimates for the occupation. |
| Jobs in the estimate | About 53,000 employee jobs |
| Career and role source | National Careers Service: Plumber Role scope, entry routes, Gas Safe requirement, call-outs and low-carbon work. View source |
Where ONS leaves a salary point blank, this page leaves it blank too. A missing top 10% figure is never filled with an estimate.
View the ONS salary tableCheck the 2026/27 tax and NI figures
Plumber salary questions
What is the average plumber salary in the UK?
The simple average plumber salary is £38,337. The ONS full-time median is £37,881, which is usually the better starting point for typical employee pay.
What is a plumber hourly rate?
The £37,881 median is roughly £19.43 an hour on a 37.5-hour week or £18.21 on a 40-hour week. These are salary equivalents before tax, not self-employed customer charge-out rates.
How much is a plumber salary per month after tax?
The median is about £3,157 gross per month. A standard 2026/27 estimate gives take-home pay of about £2,566 a month after Income Tax and employee National Insurance, before pension or student loan deductions.
What is a starting or qualified plumber salary?
ONS does not publish a fixed starting rate here. The 10th-percentile figure is £24,916, but apprentice pay, newly qualified pay and experienced qualified pay should be checked against the actual role and working pattern.
How much can a self-employed plumber earn?
This ONS page covers employee pay, not self-employed profit. A self-employed plumber may quote a higher hourly or daily rate, but materials, travel, insurance, tools, unpaid admin and tax must be deducted before comparing it with salary.
Is £37,881 a good salary for a plumber?
It is the official middle salary for full-time plumbers and heating and ventilating installers and is 3% lower than the UK full-time median of £39,039.
What do higher-paid plumbers earn?
ONS does not publish the 90th percentile for this occupation. The highest available point is the 80th percentile at £47,330, so no top-10% figure is claimed.