Plumber: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Plumbers & heating and ventilating installers and repairers (SOC 5315)
About £31,728 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.1% on last year
£3,265 a month About £2,644 a month after tax 51 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £31,725 in 2021 to £39,179 in 2026 (+23%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £21,181 | £26,856 | £31,725 | £36,713 | x |
| 2022 | £22,474 | £27,963 | £33,384 | £38,180 | x |
| 2023 | £22,062 | £28,766 | £35,963 | £41,902 | x |
| 2024 | £24,027 | £31,404 | £38,101 | £43,142 | x |
| 2025 | £24,494 | £31,590 | £38,009 | £45,533 | x |
| 2026 | £26,510 | £32,721 | £39,179 | £47,096 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £39,179 a year and half earn more. That is 4% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £32,721 and £47,096; one in ten earns less than £26,510.
Ranked by median, it is number 159 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,644 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,639 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £26,510 | £2,209 |
| 20th | £30,604 | £2,550 |
| 25th (P25) | £32,721 | £2,727 |
| 30th | £34,065 | £2,839 |
| 40th | £36,401 | £3,033 |
| Median (50th) | £39,179 | £3,265 |
| 60th | £42,409 | £3,534 |
| 70th | £45,433 | £3,786 |
| 75th (P75) | £47,096 | £3,925 |
| 80th | £49,380 | £4,115 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £39,374 | £40,671 | 49 |
| Women | x | £32,497 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £31,728 | £2,644 |
| Scotland | £31,672 | £2,639 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £39,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 97 job titles to SOC 5315 Plumbers & heating and ventilating installers and repairers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Appliances fixer
- Bathroom fitter
- Bathroom installer
- Biomass engineer
- British gas engineer
- Burner fitter
- Central heating engineer
- Converter
- Coupling connector
- Craftsman
- Distribution craftsman
- District fitter
- Domestic engineer
- Domestic gas engineer
- Emergency gas engineer
- Ferrule inserter
- Field engineer
- Fitter
- Fitter-welder
- Gas and heating engineer
- Gas and water engineer
- Gas engineer
- Gas fire fitter
- Gas fitter
- Gas heating engineer
- Gas installation engineer
- Gas linesman
- Gas mains erector
- Gas metering engineer
- Gas safe engineer
- Gas service engineer
- Gas technical engineer
- Gas technician
- Governor craftsman
- Governor fitter
- Heat and domestic engineer
- Heat pump engineer
- Heat pump installer
- Heating adviser
- Heating and lighting engineer
- Heating and plumbing engineer
- Heating and ventilating engineer
- Heating and ventilation fitter
- Heating consultant
- Heating engineer
- Heating engineer's fitter
- Heating fitter
- Heating installer
- Hot water engineer
- Hvac engineer
- Hvac technician
- Installation engineer
- Installer
- Kitchen and bathroom fitter
- Mains engineer
- Maintenance engineer
- Maintenance fitter
- Maintenance gas worker
- Maintenance man
- Mender
Show all 97 titles
- Meter fixer
- Meter installer
- Network technician
- Pewterer
- Plumber
- Plumber and decorator
- Plumber and gas engineer
- Plumber and gasfitter
- Plumber-welder
- Plumbing and heating engineer
- Plumbing contractor
- Plumbing engineer
- Plumbing technician
- Repairer
- Sales service man
- Sanitary engineer
- Sanitary engineer's fitter
- Sanitary fitter
- Service engineer
- Service man
- Service technician
- Sprinkler fitter
- Sprinkler pipe jointer
- Steam and hot water fitter
- Steam fitter
- Stove fitter
- Stove repairer
- Technical engineer
- Technical gas engineer
- Thermal and acoustic engineer
- Thermal engineer
- Transmission craftsman
- Ventilating engineer
- Ventilation engineer
- Ventilation fitter
- Ventilator fixer
- Water fitter
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Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.