Top 10 paying metropolitan areas for plumbers

Where’s the best place to live if you’re a plumber? Any place that has consistent work and a large base of customers should do the trick... but what if you’re aiming for top dollar?

We wanted to take a look at some of the best paying metropolitan areas for plumbers, as told by the most recent data (May 2013) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

First, here’s a look at the top five paying states for plumbers:

1. Alaska, with an hourly wage mean of $34.57 and an average annual mean wage of $71,900
2. New York, with an hourly wage mean of $33.45 and an average annual mean wage of $69,580
3. Massachusetts, with an hourly wage mean of $33.20 and an average annual mean wage of $69,060
4. Oregon, with an hourly wage mean of $32.77 and an average annual mean wage of $68,160
5. Illinois, with an hourly wage mean of $32.62 and an average annual mean wage of $67,860

Breaking it down a bit further, here are the top 10 paying metropolitan areas for U.S. plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters.