Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,009
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$7,801
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,171
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$42,810
Kept after tax
$35,009
Worth in national money
$37,171
State rank
22
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 22 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $42,810. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Michigan this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 393. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,810 you keep $35,009, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,171 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,960, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 22 of 48 for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters at $42,810. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Michigan reports, helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters ranks 393 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on $42,810 is $35,009. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,171 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $42,960 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,750 |
| This salary | $42,810 |
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 Michigan | $35,009 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,578 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$470 |
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 | $40,858 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$569 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Michigan earn under $42,810 and half over. The published range runs $33,770 at the tenth percentile to $51,750 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $35,009, worked from $42,810. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 393 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,171 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 393.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,770 to $51,750; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Michigan take-home of $35,009, on $42,810 for work ranking 393 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 393 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,171, worked from $42,810, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Michigan address, on work sitting at 393 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,770 at the bottom tenth to $51,750 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $37,171.
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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,009 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,770 to $51,750) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,171 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $35,009 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.