Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,028
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$8,102
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,667
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$47,130
Kept after tax
$39,028
Worth in national money
$34,667
State rank
7
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,130, which ranks 7 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 11.26% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 398 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $47,130 the take-home is $39,028. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,667 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $49,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 7 of 48 states publishing a median for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, at $47,130 — about 11.26% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters occupies position 398 of 492 in California's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $39,028 for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, from $47,130. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,667. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $49,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,370 |
| This salary | $47,130 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in California | $39,028 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,049 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,547 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,859 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,917 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $47,130. The published range is $38,880 up to $62,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $39,028 take-home in California comes from $47,130. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 398 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,667, the adjusted value of that $47,130 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 398 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,880 to $62,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $39,028, from $47,130, assumes a single California filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 398 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 7 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $34,667 — the adjusted value of that $47,130 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 398 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $49,080 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,880 and the top tenth $62,370, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $34,667 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,028 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $49,080. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,880 to $62,370) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,667 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $39,028 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.