Home / Plumbers / West Virginia
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 WV
- 4 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In WV
- 2 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
Start as an apprentice or trainee
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
- Issued by
- West Virginia Division of Labor
Journeyman licenselicense annual $75
Master and journeyman applicants certify their plumbing experience on the application; the Act and rule set no minimum number of hours
- Cost
- license annual $75
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the West Virginia license.
$56,980
a year is the median for plumbers in West Virginia ($27.39 an hour, May 2025).4
Pay by city and percentile- Weirton–Steubenville$30.82
- Wheeling$30.80
- Huntington–Ashland$29.88
- Charleston$28.34
- Morgantown$28.26
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a plumber in West Virginia?
Yes. West Virginia licenses plumbing contractors through the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board.2
Are plumbers in demand in West Virginia?
Projections Central expects about 190 plumber openings a year in West Virginia through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3
Find an apprenticeship near you
4 registered programs in West Virginia. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for plumbers in West Virginia
Sources
- West Virginia Division of Labor (labor.wv.gov, 2026-10-27)
- West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board contractor licensing (wvclboard.wv.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, West Virginia, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)