Journeyman base rate, fringe benefits and total package for 170 UA locals across 47 states — plus each local's own apprentice ladder where it publishes one. Median journeyman scale is $46.10 an hour, roughly $95,900 a year at full time.
Median journeyman
$46.10
base rate, per hour
Range
$26.50–$91.00
lowest to highest local
Locals with a rate
170
of 220 tracked
Top total package
$140.40
wage + fringe
Showing 170 of 170 locals with a published union rate.
Local
Where
Journeyman
Package
38
San Francisco, CA
$91.00
$140.40
467
Burlingame, CA
$87.75
$129.19
483
Hayward, CA
$81.54
$122.89
342
Concord (Bay Area), CA
$80.50
$130.95
32
Renton (Seattle), WA
$75.21
$109.09
1
Long Island City (NYC), NY
$48.90–$73.00
$105.81
12
Boston, MA
$69.84
$106.27
393
San Jose, CA
$68.76
$115.39
159
Martinez, CA
$67.68
$116.72
447
Sacramento, CA
$55.58–$67.37
$97.37
537
Boston, MA
$66.58
$105.80
525
Las Vegas, NV
$65.79
$92.34
598
Pasco, WA
$65.20
$100.11
24
West Caldwell, NJ
$62.09
$107.14
290
Tualatin (Portland), OR
$60.77
$95.49
200
Ronkonkoma, NY
$60.73
$106.48
26
Lacey, WA
$60.72
$94.87
21
Peekskill, NY
$60.66
$106.01
130
Chicago, IL
$60.50
$99.52
75
Milwaukee, WI
$60.05
$87.95
420
Philadelphia, PA
$59.65
$102.43
9
Englishtown, NJ
$46.23–$59.57
$106.02
601
Milwaukee, WI
$58.92
$90.26
709
Whittier, CA
$58.60
$92.25
442
Modesto, CA
$58.45
$97.19
274
Parsippany, NJ
$57.97
$98.19
62
Castroville, CA
$57.75
$101.35
118
Kenosha, WI
$57.35
$86.72
475
Warren, NJ
$56.34
$107.14
322
Winslow, NJ
$56.30
$107.06
690
Philadelphia, PA
$56.28
$91.79
375
Fairbanks, AK
$55.66
$90.56
533
Kansas City, MO
$55.56
$81.36
23
Rockford, IL
$55.54
$86.97
7
Latham, NY
$55.26
$84.38
602
Capitol Heights (DC metro), MD
$55.00–$55.00
$79.46
597
Chicago, IL
$55.00
$93.62
4
West Boylston, MA
$55.00
$86.57
246
Fresno, CA
$13.00–$54.50
$97.04
51
East Providence, RI
$54.34
$88.84
149
Savoy, IL
$54.31
$78.46
8
Kansas City, MO
$54.28
$78.07
469
Phoenix, AZ
$54.15
$73.95
675
Honolulu, HI
$53.83
$87.02
350
Sparks, NV
$53.38
$80.67
5
Washington, DC
$53.30
$77.01
400
Kaukauna (NE Wisconsin), WI
$53.23
$76.63
373
Mountainville, NY
$41.99–$53.20
$99.77
189
Columbus, OH
$53.00
$80.59
160
Murphysboro, IL
$52.80
$76.75
228
Marysville, CA
$52.75
$94.14
104
Holyoke, MA
$52.26
$83.31
524
Scranton, PA
$51.69
$78.76
553
East Alton, IL
$51.61
$73.06
50
Northwood, OH
$51.00
$83.56
434
Mosinee, WI
$50.94
$76.92
99
Bloomington, IL
$50.85
$78.60
669
Columbia, MD
$49.69–$60.67
$80.59
777
Meriden, CT
$50.58
$86.43
449
Harmony (Pittsburgh), PA
$50.20
$80.82
440
Indianapolis, IN
$50.05
$70.44
367
Anchorage, AK
$50.00
$83.20
210
Merrillville, IN
$49.77
$78.33
45
St. Joseph, MO
$49.45
$76.10
11
Duluth, MN
$49.32
$76.50
120
Valley View (Cleveland), OH
$49.17
$77.72
439
Caseyville, IL
$49.00
$73.42
562
Earth City (St. Louis), MO
$48.66
$71.45
27
Pittsburgh (Coraopolis), PA
$48.65
$74.12
551
West Frankfort, IL
$48.50
$77.35
638
Long Island City (NYC), NY
$47.85–$70.36
$71.81
101
Belleville, IL
$47.75
$71.17
94
Canton, OH
$47.48
$74.62
174
Coopersville, MI
$47.40
$70.75
3
Aurora, CO
$47.23
$68.91
44
Spokane, WA
$47.15
$74.35
219
Akron, OH
$46.87
$75.26
671
Monroe, MI
$46.71
$73.50
157
Terre Haute, IN
$46.65
$70.10
370
Flint, MI
$46.61
$69.56
25
Rock Island, IL
$46.50
$74.30
41
Butte, MT
$46.45
$66.37
136
Evansville, IN
$46.42
$67.75
464
Omaha, NE
$46.25
$67.35
140
Salt Lake City, UT
$46.10
$61.93
58
Colorado Springs, CO
$45.90
$63.07
441
Wichita, KS
$45.90
$65.84
131
Hooksett, NH
$45.76
$71.95
125
Cedar Rapids, IA
$45.51
$67.08
85
Saginaw, MI
$38.01–$45.50
$67.25
111
Escanaba, MI
$34.59–$45.44
$73.87
208
Denver, CO
$45.40
$67.51
33
Des Moines, IA
$45.20
$68.45
166
Fort Wayne, IN
$45.06
$68.22
653
Centralia, IL
$45.00
$66.54
172
South Bend, IN
$44.93
$67.96
112
Binghamton, NY
$31.40–$44.91
$78.22
773
Queensbury (Glens Falls), NY
$44.88
$78.48
55
Cleveland, OH
$44.86
$74.89
30
Billings, MT
$44.35
$66.22
190
Ann Arbor, MI
$44.31
$68.01
184
Paducah, KY
$44.26
$64.54
16
Omaha, NE
$44.26
$61.16
137
Springfield, IL
$37.96–$43.89
$69.60
360
Collinsville, IL
$43.75
$65.00
520
Harrisburg, PA
$43.35
$72.91
412
Albuquerque, NM
$43.07
$59.67
162
Dayton, OH
$43.05
$70.23
42
Norwalk, OH
$43.02
$69.47
776
Lima, OH
$42.76
$73.57
248
Ashland, KY
$42.75
$68.51
63
East Peoria, IL
$42.70
$73.68
13
Rochester, NY
$42.68
$70.56
486
Baltimore, MD
$42.62
$65.39
333
Lansing, MI
$42.29
$66.23
22
West Seneca (Buffalo), NY
$42.20
$72.00
262
Juneau, AK
$41.50
$69.12
145
Grand Junction, CO
$41.32
$57.33
72
Atlanta, GA
$41.18
$58.19
353
Peoria, IL
$41.10
$68.69
452
Lexington, KY
$41.00
$62.66
344
Oklahoma City, OK
$41.00–$41.00
$57.03
565
Parkersburg, WV
$41.00
$78.63
168
Marietta, OH
$40.92
$78.12
392
Cincinnati, OH
$40.70
$70.22
396
Boardman, OH
$40.55
$69.80
300
Fargo, ND
$40.53
$61.13
636
Farmington Hills (Detroit), MI
$40.41
$69.76
716
Augusta, ME
$40.00
$64.71
296
Boise, ID
$39.90
$58.57
100
Dallas, TX
$39.76
$53.80
459
Missoula, MT
$39.38
$55.61
178
Springfield, MO
$32.78–$39.35
$55.07
495
Cambridge, OH
$39.32
$76.92
142
San Antonio, TX
$38.97
$50.45
577
Portsmouth, OH
$38.89
$67.45
633
Owensboro, KY
$38.41
$60.67
211
Deer Park (Houston), TX
$38.31
$50.92
146
Fort Worth, TX
$38.28
$51.09
83
Wheeling, WV
$38.04
$77.76
234
Jacksonville, FL
$37.50
$55.09
693
South Burlington, VT
$37.40
$56.42
286
Austin, TX
$37.15
$54.07
110
Norfolk, VA
$36.92
$55.17
648
Pocatello, ID
$36.75
$55.68
430
Tulsa, OK
$36.65
$52.68
372
Tuscaloosa, AL
$36.10
$52.05
421
Charleston (both Carolinas), SC
$36.00
$50.19
68
Houston, TX
$35.96
$47.64
98
Madison Heights (Detroit), MI
$35.77
$70.90
188
Savannah, GA
$35.45
$53.00
91
Birmingham, AL
$35.25
$51.01
119
Mobile, AL
$35.20
$48.71
192
Cheyenne, WY
$34.88
$57.28
60
Metairie (New Orleans), LA
$34.87
$52.66
155
Little Rock, AR
$34.41
$50.11
152
Morgantown, WV
$34.05
$75.10
177
Brunswick, GA
$34.00
$50.35
10
Richmond, VA
$33.25
$52.72
529
Waco, TX
$32.85
$45.59
760
Sheffield, AL
$32.50
$51.83
357
Schoolcraft, MI
$32.50
$57.47
198
Baton Rouge, LA
$32.42
$48.92
52
Montgomery, AL
$32.30
$50.26
502
Louisville, KY
$32.00
$52.13
150
Augusta, GA
$31.70
$48.26
568
Saucier, MS
$30.41
$41.88
141
Shreveport, LA
$28.98
$43.90
404
Lubbock, TX
$28.64
$39.29
247
Alexandria, LA
$26.50
$39.89
Union scale vs the national plumber median
The BLS median for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters is $30.67 an hour ($63,800 a year) as of May 2025, across $510,600 jobs. That number blends union and non-union work, residential and commercial, every state.
The median UA journeyman base rate on this page is $46.10 an hour — about $95,900 a year at 2,080 hours, and that is before the fringe package. It is not an apples-to-apples comparison (union journeymen are, by definition, fully-trained workers in organised markets) but it is the clearest illustration of what the apprenticeship is worth finishing.
Journeyman scale by region
Region
Locals
Median
Range
West
36
$54.15
$34.88–$91.00
Northeast
37
$52.26
$34.05–$73.00
Midwest
63
$46.50
$32.50–$60.50
South
34
$35.96
$26.50–$44.26
What apprentices earn
There is no UA-wide apprentice pay scale. Apprentice wages are negotiated local by local, and the locals genuinely disagree: among the 7 locals we verified that publish a percentage ladder, the first step ranges from 35% to 55% of journeyman scale. Another 3 publish flat dollar amounts instead — and UA Local 396 states plainly that its apprentice rates “are NOT related to the Journeyman’s rate in any way.”
That is why this page shows a ladder only where the local published one. Applying a “typical” percentage to the rest would turn an estimate into an apparent fact, and for at least one local it would be flatly wrong. Full detail on the UA apprentice pay scale page.
Where these numbers come from
Every rate is a 2026 federal wage determination for a union classification. When a determination covers a union classification, the rate in it is the local’s own negotiated collective-bargaining rate for that county — the Department of Labor adopts the bargained rate wholesale. The determination identifier encodes which local it belongs to (PLUM0016 is Plumbers Local 16), which is how each rate here is tied to a specific local rather than to a region.
Each entry links to its determination so you can check it. Four rules shape what is published:
Survey rates are excluded. Determinations in weakly-organised counties carry survey identifiers rather than union ones. Those are not union scale, so they are left out — which is why 50 tracked locals have no figure here.
Residential rates are excluded. Residential schedules run well below commercial journeyman scale. Minnesota is the clearest case: every UA local there appears only in residential determinations, so none of them carry a journeyman figure on this page.
The common rate, not the best one. A local covers many counties and sometimes several classifications. We publish the rate most of its determinations agree on, never the highest — jobsite differentials can run 50% above a local’s ordinary scale and would badly misrepresent it.
Ranges where a range is honest. 14 locals have genuinely different rates across their jurisdiction — nationwide locals especially — and are shown as a range rather than a single number.
Rates change with every collective-bargaining cycle. These are 2026 determinations; the figures on this page are generated from that dataset rather than typed in, so a refresh updates the page, the tables and the summary numbers together.
Every determination cited on this page
The table above is interactive, so its per-local source links only exist once you open a row — invisible to anything reading this page as plain HTML. Here they are server-rendered instead, one line per local.
Getting to journeyman scale starts with the aptitude test
These rates are what you earn after you get in and top out. The gate is the GAN aptitude battery — six timed sections, no calculator. Practise the real format on your phone.
Sources: 2026 federal wage determinations (US Department of Labor), linked per local above; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (May 2025); and each local’s own published wage schedule for apprentice ladders.