47+ Plumbing Industry Statistics & Facts (2022)

Key Plumbing Industry Statistics

1. The annual revenue of the plumbing industry in the United States in 2021 was $124 billion.
2. The global plumbing industry generated $4.56 trillion revenue in 2021.
3. According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the median salary for plumbers in the United States in 2021 was $56,330.
4. As of 2020, there are 481,472 Americans employed in the U.S. plumbing industry.
5. On average, around 35% of a plumbing company's revenue is profit.
6. Between 5% and 9% of plumbers are female, with women earning about 91% of what men earn as plumbers. 
7. About 53% of American plumbers have no higher than a high school diploma.
8. Plumbing fixtures is a sub-sector of the plumbing industry which generates about $91.28 billion annually.
9. Emcor Group Inc. is the largest contractor in the United States. Their plumbing division generated $8.8 billion revenue in 2020.
10. The plumbing industry in the United Kingdom brings in around £17.2 billion pounds ($23.31 billion) annually.
11. The German plumbing industry makes €43 billion euros ($48.79 billion) annually.
12. The plumbing industry in India is severely lacking. Over 90% of plumbers in India have no formal training.
13. Smart bathrooms contribute around $3 million in revenue to the global plumbing industry, and are quickly growing in popularity.
14. Smart toilets were the most in-demand bathroom fixture in 2019. They made up over 30% of the plumbing fixtures revenue in that year.

Plumbing Industry Overview

Chapter 1: Global Plumbing Statistics

The global plumbing industry generated $4.56 trillion revenue last year.

On average, around 35% of a plumbing company's revenue is profit.

Between 5% and 9% of plumbers are female, with women earning about 91% of what men earn as plumbers. 

Plumbing fixtures is a sub-sector of the plumbing industry which generates about $91.28 billion annually.

Smart bathrooms generate around $3 million in revenue every year in the global plumbing industry, and are quickly growing in popularity.

Smart toilets were the most in-demand bathroom fixture in 2019. They made up over 30% of the plumbing fixtures revenue in that year.

However, there is a clear difference in the plumbing industry for third world countries as many of those citizens may not even have modern plumbing. 

This makes it hard to gauge numbers for those countries, so the annual revenue comes mostly from developed countries.

While plumbing is a service-based industry, a part of the revenue comes from sales of plumbing fixtures and parts.

Around 20% of the plumbing industry's revenue is from materials like fixtures and parts.

In 2020, the plumbing fixtures market made a global revenue of $91.28 billion.

Some of the more popular fixtures are toilets, bidets, shower heads, faucets, sinks, and kitchen taps.

The plumbing fixtures market has an estimated CAGR of 5.09% over the next 5 years.

This is largely due to people's desire to upgrade to new, technologically advanced fixtures.

In a certain light, you can view the plumbing industry as a part of the construction industry.

This is because all new construction (with the exception of infrastructure) will need plumbing of some type. 

Therefore, it's fair to say that the success and growth of the plumbing industry depends on the success and growth of the construction industry.

In 2020, bathrooms were the most remodeled room in American homes.

Those remodels keep plumbers busy.

Chapter 2: Smart Bathroom Plumbing Statistics

The world is gravitating towards smart devices in every room of the house, including the bathroom. This opens up a whole new avenue of revenue for the plumbing industry. The statistics below show how fast this sector is growing.

In 2019, smart bathroom services and sales contributed around $3 million to the annual plumbing industry revenue.

Smart bathrooms are making a splash in the world.

North America has the largest share of the smart bathroom global revenue at 40.2%.

Over 61% of the smart bathroom revenue in 2019 was from commercial smart bathroom plumbing services and sales.

This is largely due to the increase in tourism and the development of newer, more modern hotel facilities. 

While these facilities and the construction of these facilities saw a drop in revenue during the pandemic, they have quickly bounced back in the following years.

The smart bathroom sector of plumbing is expected to have a CAGR of 10.5% over the next five years.

The expected growth rate largely depends on the growth of the construction industry.

Smart toilets contributed 33.6% to the total global revenue of plumbing fixtures.

Smart toilets are the products that dominated the smart bathroom fixtures segment in 2019.

Chapter 3: United States Plumbing Industry Statistics

In 2021, the annual revenue of the plumbing industry in the United States was $124 billion.

That's only a mere 2.72% of the entire plumbing industry.

The United States is responsible for a humble portion of the global plumbing industry revenue. 

However, the U.S. is responsible for a huge chunk of the smart bathroom annual revenue. Here are some stats for you to consider.

Over the last decade, this industry has been trending upward in revenue, although it's been a slow growth. 

The average growth of the U.S. plumbing industry has been about 0.4% each year. 

One possible reason for this slow growth is the fact that the U.S. is such a developed country - adequate plumbing is already in place in most of the country. 

Other countries have less adequate plumbing, therefore they have a higher need for plumbing which increases their annual growth rate.

The construction industry is the top industry in the United States that hires plumbers. They make up about 37% of plumbers' work.

The industry that hires the second most plumbers is the retail industry, making up about 11% of the work. The third is the manufacturing industry, making up about 9% of the work.

Chapter 4: U.S. Employment Statistics and Demographics for Plumbers

Compared to many other countries, the employment outlook for plumbers in the U.S. is good. 

They make a decent, livable wage in most areas and have solid benefits. Of course, there are always areas that could be improved. The stats below show these areas.

1. In 2020 in the U.S., the median plumber salary was $56,330 per year. The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) categorizes plumbers in the same category as pipefitters and steamfitters, so these numbers may be slightly skewed. This salary is on the lower end in the United States since the average cost of living in the country is $61,334.
2. The salary for plumbers widely varies with location in the United States. The trend seems to be that the further north you live in the country, the higher the salary. This makes sense because the cost of living is higher in the north than the south.
3. Alaska has the highest paying average salary for plumbers at around $88,150 in 2020. This makes sense because the average cost of living in Alaska can be almost 25% more than the average cost of living for the rest of the United States.
4. Florida has the lowest paying average salary for plumbers at around $39,431 in 2021. If you include U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and Guam have averages even lower than this. Just like with the other mentioned states, the salary here matches up to the fact that Florida has a lower cost of living than the national average.
5. In 2020, there were around 481,472 American citizens employed in the plumbing industry. This isn't nearly enough plumbers to meet demand. According to the National Homebuilder's Association's Spring 2021 Construction Market Report, there is a 55% shortage of plumbers in the United States. The lack of available labor is causing the costs in the industry to go up.
6. The outlook on plumbing jobs is inspected to increase by 5% over the next few years. This is due to the increase in the construction industry. However, with the labor shortage, this may not necessarily be a good thing.
7. Somewhere between 5% and 9% of plumbers are female. This percentage has remained steady over the past decade. The reason that it hasn't increased isn't because the industry isn't accepting of women. It's because the overall interest in working in trades has declined. As older workers retire, there are simply not enough new workers replacing them.
8. Women earn about 91% of what men earn as plumbers. There is still a small wage gap, but this is likely due to the small number of women in the industry. With the labor shortage looming over the industry, women are able to demand more money than ever before.
9. Over 68% of plumbers in the United States are white/caucasian. Hispanics make up 17.3%, African-Americans make up 9.7%, and Asians make up 1.9% of plumbers. This percentage has held steady over the past decade.
10. About 53% of American plumbers have no higher than a high school diploma. Around 15% have an associate's degree. Only 12% have a bachelor's degree. Having a degree isn't necessary to be a plumber. For many people, getting certified at a trade school can suffice. There are even those that simply learn from "the family business".
11. Ironically, on average, a plumber with an associate's degree earns almost $7,000 more annually than a plumber with a bachelor's degree. One possible reason for this is that plumbers with associates degrees will have more on the job experience than someone with a bachelor's degree. They've had more time to develop a good reputation and earn raises.
12. A whopping 84% of plumbers work for private companies. This makes sense because most of the construction in the country is done by private companies. A little over 12% of plumbers are self-employed. Many self-employed plumbers make a lot more than plumbers who work for a company. The average salary for a self-employed plumber is a little over $76,000.

Chapter 5: Germany Plumbing Industry Statistics

The plumbing industry in Germany has a small market share compared to many other countries in the world.

However, the German industry isn't to be minimized. Germany is a developed country which means that plumbing is a priority and the statistics prove it.

1. In 2019, the German plumbing industry brought in an annual revenue of €43 billion euros ($48.79 billion). When compared with other countries, these numbers are a bit high considering that the German construction industry only brings in a fraction of what the U.S. construction industry brings in.
2. There were a little over 401,000 German citizens working in the plumbing industry.
3. There were an estimated 67,436 plumbing companies in Germany in 2019.
4. The average annual salary for a plumber in Germany is €51,200 pounds ($58,079).

Chapter 6: U.K. Plumbing Industry Statistics

The plumbing industry in the United Kingdom could be good - if they had enough plumbers! It's no surprise that their annual plumbing revenue is so far behind that of the United States because they only have about a quarter of the plumbers that the U.S. has.

1. The plumbing and heating sector in the U.K. has an annual revenue of £17.2 billion pounds ($23.31 billion). This low number is due to the fact that there aren't enough plumbers to do the work needed to be done (discussed in the next point).
2. There is a shortage of plumbers in the United Kingdom. It's estimated that there are around 120,00 to 150,000 plumbers in the U.K. The U.K. likely needs almost four times that many plumbers.
3. It's estimated that only around 1,000 of the plumbers in the United Kingdom are female. That's only .66% to .83% of plumbers. However, efforts are being made all across the nation to entice women into the field. Unfortunately, it's not so much about creating gender equity. It's more about the fact that they desperately need plumbers.

Chapter 7: India Plumbing Industry Statistics & Facts

The plumbing industry in India leaves a lot to be desired. For one, the overall plumbing in the country is not great. 

Most plumbers in India have no formal training. They are self-taught, mainly in simple household problems, which means that the construction industry in India is severely impacted. Here are some statistics to put this in perspective.

1. There is a large rate of unemployment among plumbers in India. There are 800,000 plumbers in India and almost 80% of them can't find work (IPSC). One big reason for this is that a vast amount of Indian citizens don't have modern plumbing. If they don't have it, there is nothing to fix or upgrade. In fact, India has the highest number of people out of any developed country without access to modern plumbing.
2. Over 90% of the plumbers (employed or unemployed) have no formal training. They've learned through on-the-job training which, as discussed above, isn't very much.
3. Recognizing the need for skilled plumbers and other skilled manpower, the government of India took an initiative to correct this problem. They started the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) which provides training to Indian citizens in various disciplines. The NSDC is divided into sectors - the one focusing on plumbers is the Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC).
4. It seems that the bulk of plumbers in India, around 70%, come from Kendrapara. One possible reason for this is that this historic location is ahead of many other districts in education. Kendrapara is the "center" of many of the villages in that region so it makes sense that education would stem from there.
5. On average, plumbers in India earn about RS 20,000 rupees per month. This only amounts to $267.77. India is a very poor country where many people live on less than $2 per day. If a person is lucky to work as a plumber, they may be considered rich in the country compared to other people.

Chapter 8: Largest Plumbing Companies in the World

One of the issues with determining the largest plumbing companies in the world is that many of these companies are actually construction companies with plumbing divisions. 

The companies' annual revenues may make them the largest in the world, but the revenue from the plumbing divisions may or may not give a fair representation compared to smaller companies that are exclusively plumbing and HVAC companies.

Despite this, the statistics below give you a great view on how valuable plumbing is around the world.

1. Emcor Group Inc. is the largest contractor in the United States. They primarily operate in the United States but they have a construction division in the United Kingdom. They provide services in every area except residential buildings. The company had an annual revenue of $8.8 billion in 2020. Their revenue from industrial services (which includes plumbing and other services) was $797.44 million.
2. Pimlico Plumbers in London, England is the United Kingdom's largest independent plumbing company. However, in September of 2021, the company was acquired by the U.S. firm Neighborly. Despite this, Pimlico Plumbers continues to operate in the United Kingdom. At the time of the acquisition, Pimlico was making around £50.7 million pounds ($68.72 million) annually.
3. Caverion Deutschland GmbH is one of the largest construction companies in the world and they have a pretty sizable services division which includes plumbing. It once was a part of the YIT Group which was launched in Finland, but a demerger in 2013 separated Caverion into it's own entity.
4. Caverion has 230 facilities in 11 countries. In 2021, the company had an overall annual revenue of €2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion). The services division made around €1.36 billion euros ($1.54 billion). 

Sources

• ServiceTitan
• IbisWorld

Conclusion

That was a very extensive list of stats about the plumbing industry. If there is something more you need to know about this industry, don't hesitate to reach out to us at ([email protected]). You may also want to check out these HVAC statistics.