Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Texas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,887
after federal, FICA and Texas tax
Tax takes
$6,063
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,930
Texas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Texas — 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
$41,950
Kept after tax
$35,887
Worth in national money
$36,930
State rank
25
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Texas sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $41,950, ranking 25 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Texas, this one sits low: 376 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $41,950 the take-home is $35,887, which is worth about $36,930 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $42,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Texas occupies the middle band for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters: a median of $41,950, ranking 25 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters occupies position 376 of 493 in Texas'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.
- Texas's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on its $41,950 median: $35,887 retained after tax becomes $36,930 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $42,770 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 | $35,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,180 |
| This salary | $41,950 |
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 Texas | $35,887 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Florida | $35,887 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,241 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $41,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,885 |
| Prices in Florida | 103 vs 97 |
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 Texas earn under $41,950 and half over. The published range runs $35,030 at the tenth percentile to $54,180 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 Texas's $35,887, worked from $41,950. 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 376 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,930 uses one figure for the whole of Texas. 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 376.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters in Texas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,030 to $54,180; 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 Texas take-home of $35,887, on $41,950 for work ranking 376 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 376 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,930, worked from $41,950, 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 Texas address, on work sitting at 376 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,030 and the top tenth $54,180, so most people doing this work in Texas sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $36,930.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $35,887 survives, because Texas levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($35,030 to $54,180) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Texas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Texas'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 $36,930 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Texas levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $35,887 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.