Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,807
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$9,993
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,238
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$44,800
Kept after tax
$34,807
Worth in national money
$33,238
State rank
14
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oregon is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,800, which ranks 14 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 5.76% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Oregon, this one sits low: 424 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $44,800 the take-home is $34,807. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $33,238 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $46,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oregon ranks 14 of 48 states publishing a median for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, at $44,800 — about 5.76% 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 424 of 489 in Oregon'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 Oregon income tax is $34,807 for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, from $44,800. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,238. ⚠️ 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 $46,200 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 | $39,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,520 |
| This salary | $44,800 |
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 Oregon | $34,807 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,177 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,049 |
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 | $40,606 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,315 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 Oregon earn under $44,800 and half over. The published range runs $39,370 at the tenth percentile to $58,520 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 Oregon's $34,807, worked from $44,800. 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 424 of 489.
- Two cautions on $33,238, the adjusted value of that $44,800 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Oregon. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 424 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,370 to $58,520; 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 Oregon take-home of $34,807, on $44,800 for work ranking 424 of 489 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 424 of 489 in the state.
- This $33,238 adjusted figure, worked from $44,800, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 424 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 424 of 489 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 $46,200 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 $39,370 and the top tenth $58,520, so most people doing this work in Oregon 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 $33,238 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Oregon then takes its own share, leaving $34,807.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Oregon is $46,200. 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 ($39,370 to $58,520) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,238 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 $34,807 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.