Home / Plumbers / Pennsylvania
Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In PA
- 140 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In PA
- 12 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed plumbing contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Get hired or start training
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- PA Office of Attorney General - Home Improvement Contractor Registration
$68,080
a year is the median for plumbers in Pennsylvania ($32.73 an hour, May 2025).3
Pay by city and percentile- Philadelphia–Camden$35.99
- Harrisburg–Carlisle$35.36
- Pittsburgh$33.70
- York–Hanover$33.70
- Erie$31.93
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a plumber in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has no state plumbing contractor license; cities and counties license contractors.1
Are plumbers in demand in Pennsylvania?
Projections Central expects about 1,310 plumber openings a year in Pennsylvania through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2
Find an apprenticeship near you
140 registered programs in Pennsylvania. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for plumbers in Pennsylvania
Sources
- Municipal licensing (palegis.us, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Pennsylvania, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)