Texas Plumbing Industry: Employment and Market Statistics

The Texas plumbing sector represents one of the largest state-level trades employment markets in the United States, shaped by population growth, regulatory licensing requirements, and the demands of a construction economy that spans residential, commercial, and industrial segments. This page covers workforce size, wage benchmarks, employer composition, and market structure as documented by federal and state labor agencies. These figures inform workforce planning, apprenticeship program sizing, regulatory staffing projections, and industry research.

Definition and scope

The Texas plumbing labor market encompasses all licensed and apprentice-level workers engaged in the installation, maintenance, and repair of water supply, drainage, gas, and related piping systems under the authority of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE). Employment statistics for this sector are compiled primarily by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) under the Standard Occupational Classification code 47-2152 (Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters) and supplemented by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

The workforce divides into three licensed tiers recognized by TSBPE:

Apprentice Plumber — supervised entry-level workers completing required hours under a licensed master or journeyman
Journeyman Plumber — independently qualified technicians licensed to perform work under master oversight
Master Plumber — top license tier authorizing independent contracting and supervisory responsibility over job sites

A fourth administrative category, the Responsible Master Plumber (RMP), governs the contractor registration structure, where a licensed master assumes regulatory accountability for a plumbing business. Details on license classification and scope of work appear on the Texas Plumbing License Types and Texas Master Plumber Responsibilities reference pages within this authority network.

This page's scope covers Texas-domiciled employment data only. Interstate workers, federal facility plumbing covered under federal procurement codes, and offshore or military installations fall outside TSBPE jurisdiction and are not covered here.

How it works

The employment market in Texas plumbing is structured around the licensing pipeline administered by TSBPE and the economic demand generated by construction permit volumes tracked by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and municipal building departments.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Texas consistently ranks among the top three states nationally for total plumber employment. The BLS OEWS data (May 2023 release) reported approximately 61,490 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters employed in Texas (BLS OEWS State Data), placing the state second nationally behind California.

The annual mean wage for this occupational group in Texas was reported at $65,040 in the May 2023 BLS dataset, compared to the national mean of $67,720 for the same classification (BLS OEWS National). Regional variation within Texas is significant: the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA account for the largest concentrations of licensed plumbing workers in the state.

Market structure by employer type follows a pattern consistent with national BLS industry sector breakdowns:

Specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238220) — the dominant employer category
Residential building construction firms — secondary employer segment
Industrial and commercial facilities operating in-house maintenance departments
Municipal water utilities and public works departments
Plumbing supply wholesale and distribution operations employing licensed technical staff

The regulatory context for Texas plumbing page addresses how TSBPE licensing volume data intersects with this workforce structure.

Common scenarios

The market statistics surface across three operational contexts that drive their use:

Workforce shortage analysis. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has documented persistent skilled trades shortages in Texas construction. TSBPE license issuance data, cross-referenced against active contractor registrations, provides a proxy measure for licensed supply versus licensed demand. When active apprentice registrations decline relative to master license renewals, the pipeline ratio narrows.

Wage benchmarking for public contracting. Texas public entities using the Texas Comptroller's procurement framework reference BLS prevailing wage data when structuring bids for plumbing services on government facilities. The Davis-Bacon Act applies to federally funded construction projects and requires wage determinations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL Wage and Hour Division), creating a federal floor that intersects with Texas labor market rates.

Apprenticeship program sizing. Texas plumbing apprenticeship programs registered under the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship use BLS and TWC employment projections to calibrate cohort intake. The TWC's Labor Market and Career Information (LMCI) division publishes long-term occupational outlooks for the 47-2152 classification at the state and workforce development area levels.

Contractor licensing saturation. TSBPE publishes the count of active Responsible Master Plumber registrations by county, enabling analysis of contractor density relative to population and permitted construction activity. Areas with low RMP-per-permit ratios indicate markets where labor and licensing supply is constrained.

Decision boundaries

Employment and market data serve different analytical functions depending on the decision type. Three key contrasts govern appropriate use:

BLS OEWS vs. TWC LMCI data. BLS OEWS figures represent point-in-time wage and employment snapshots from employer survey data, weighted to statewide estimates. TWC LMCI projections model 10-year employment growth trajectories using econometric methods. The two datasets answer different questions: OEWS answers "how many workers exist now and what do they earn," while LMCI answers "how many workers will be needed by a target year."

Licensed workforce vs. total plumbing employment. Not all workers enumerated in BLS 47-2152 data hold active TSBPE licenses. Apprentice-level workers, workers in transitional license status, and out-of-state workers temporarily active on large projects may appear in employment surveys without appearing in TSBPE active license counts. The gap between these two data sources represents a structural measurement divergence, not a regulatory compliance problem.

State labor data vs. municipal-level demand. The Texas Plumbing in Local Context reference covers how city-level permit volumes and utility growth rates interact with state employment aggregates. The Texas site overview at contextualizes how statewide statistics relate to localized service sector structure.

Market statistics do not substitute for licensing verification. Employment of unlicensed plumbing workers in Texas constitutes a violation under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1301, enforceable by TSBPE through civil penalties. Enforcement records are available through the Texas Plumbing Violations and Enforcement reference.

Scope boundary

The employment and market data on this page applies exclusively to Texas-domiciled plumbing sector activity regulated under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1301 and administered by TSBPE. Federal plumbing work on military installations, tribal lands, and federally owned properties operates under separate regulatory frameworks not addressed here. Workers licensed in other states performing temporary Texas work may be subject to TSBPE reciprocity rules — that topic falls under Texas Plumbing License Requirements. Market data from Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, or Arkansas is not included and does not apply to Texas licensing or wage determinations.

References

📜 2 regulatory citations referenced · 🔍 Monitored by ANA Regulatory Watch · View update log