Plumber salary UK: what plumbers really earn
The typical full-time plumber salary is £37,881. See the official ONS pay range, estimated monthly take-home pay and how it compares with the UK full-time median of £39,039.
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.
What the typical salary may look like after tax
At the typical plumber salary of £37,881, take-home is about £2,566 a month.
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.
What the plumber pay range shows
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.
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 typical plumber salary in the UK?
The ONS full-time median for plumbers is £37,881. The simple average is £38,337. The median is the better starting point for a typical salary.
Is £37,881 a good salary for a plumber?
It is the official middle salary for full-time plumbers. It is 3% lower than the UK full-time median of £39,039.
What do the best-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.
How much is plumber take-home pay at the typical salary?
A standard 2026/27 estimate gives about £2,566 a month after Income Tax and employee National Insurance. Pension, student loan, salary sacrifice and tax-code changes are not included.