Plumbing
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Plumbing occupation series (code 4206), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Plumbing is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 822 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family. At an average salary of $84,050 it pays below the federal average, and headcount edged down from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -1.0%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 10.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #2 of 4
What the Numbers Say About Plumbing
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family (code 42) groups Plumbing together with 3 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Plumbing postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family. Across the Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family, 4,411 employees work in 4 occupations; Plumbing is 18.6% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Plumbing and Pipefitting Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Plumbing pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$84,050
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-28.4%
Where Plumbing ranks on federal pay
Plumbing earns more on average than 40% of federal occupation series (216 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Plumbing sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Plumbing.
Related Occupations in Plumbing and Pipefitting Family
3 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipefitting | 3,398 | $80,582 | 10.2 yrs |
| Fuel Distribution System Mechanic | 133 | n/a | 13.4 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Plumbing and Pipefitting | 58 | $150,118 | 13.2 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Plumbing outside the Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (822 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($84,050 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Plumbing pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Plumbing and Pipefitting Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Plumbing postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.