Plumber Salary in Albany, NY: Median $58,473 in 2026
Albany (NY) · COL index 95 · Unemployment 3.5% · Metro pop 905,000 · Rank #162 of 283 for Plumber salary
A Plumber in Albany earns an estimated median of $58,473 per year. That figure starts from the New York state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($66,377) and scales it by Albany's composite cost-of-living index of 95 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $39,756; the 90th percentile reaches $93,377. After federal, New York state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Plumber takes home approximately $46,501/year — about $3,875/month or $1,788 every other week.
Compared to the national Plumber median of $61,550, Albany pays -5.0%. Relative to the Albany median household income of $66,800, a Plumbersalary runs -12.5%. Local unemployment is 3.5%[3], with an estimated 199 annual Plumber openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (490,800).
Plumber Snapshot — Albany (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Albany | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber median salary | $58,473 | $61,550 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $39,756 | $45,130 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $93,377 | $106,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $46,501 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $360,401 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,643/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,500/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $86,072 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5% | — | [3] |
How Plumber Salaries Work in Albany
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the New York state-level OEWS median ($66,377) and scaling by Albany's composite cost-of-living index (95)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and New York state income tax at a 4.5% effective rate ($2,611/yr on the $58,473 median)[10].
Albany also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $86,072, which frames what "a good Plumber salary" means locally: a $$58,473 wage pays about 68% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Albany
Estimated annual expense shares on a $46,501 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Albany's COL index of 95. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Albany's COL index of 95[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,200/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Albany
Renting
Buying
At $3,875/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,163/mo. Albany's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,643/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,500/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Plumber salary. For homebuyers, the 4.7× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Albany Stacks Up for Plumbers
Against 283 major US cities: Albany ranks #162 for nominal Plumber salary, #141 for rent affordability, and #119 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Albany's nominal wage premium. Plumbers here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Plumber Salary Comparison
Albany's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs NY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany, NY ★ | $58,473 | 95 | $1,200 | — |
| New York, NY | $115,099 | 187 | $3,600 | +96.8% |
| Buffalo, NY | $54,164 | 88 | $1,125 | -7.4% |
| Rochester, NY | $52,933 | 86 | $1,250 | -9.5% |
| Poughkeepsie, NY | $73,860 | 120 | $1,700 | +26.3% |
| Syracuse, NY | $52,933 | 86 | $1,050 | -9.5% |
Plumber Job Market in Albany
Albany has an estimated 199 annual Plumberopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 490,800 national Plumbers[1]. The 3.5% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Plumbers install and repair water, drainage, and gas pipe systems in residential and commercial buildings. Self-employed plumbers must manage both business and tax obligations. Typical entry requirement: apprenticeship / high school diploma. Projected growth through 2034: 6%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Albany
Early-career Plumbers in Albany start around $39,756, reach the city median ($58,473) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($93,377) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Albany
Calculators for Plumbers in Albany
Other professions in Albany
Frequently Asked Questions — Plumber in Albany
How much does a Plumber make in Albany, NY?
The estimated median salary for a Plumber in Albany is $58,473/year, scaled from the national median ($61,550) by Albany's composite cost-of-living index of 95 (US = 100). After federal, New York state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $46,501/year or $3,875/month.
Can a Plumber afford to live in Albany?
On $3,875/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,163/month. Albany's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,643/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,500/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 24.6%, making housing very affordable for a Plumber at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Plumber pay in Albany?
On $58,473 gross, a Plumber in Albany pays approximately $4,888 in federal income tax (8.4% effective), $2,611 in New York state income tax (4.5% effective), and $4,473 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 20.5%. Some New York cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Albany rank for Plumber salaries vs other cities?
Albany ranks #162 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Plumber salary, #141 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #119 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Plumber in Albany?
On $46,501 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Albany looks like: housing $14,400/yr (31.0%); food $5,413/yr; transportation $4,557/yr; healthcare $3,206/yr; utilities $2,267/yr; savings + discretionary $16,658/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Albany's COL index of 95 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Plumber job market like in Albany?
Albany's unemployment rate is 3.5% across the metro of 905,000. Estimated annual Plumber openings: ~199 (extrapolated from 490,800 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Albany employers pay above or below the New York median for Plumbers?
Not consistently — Albany's estimated Plumber median of $58,473 is 5.0% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Albany median is derived from the New York state-level BLS OEWS median ($66,377), scaled by Albany's composite cost-of-living index of 95. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Plumbermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses New York's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 95index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 107.8(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
- New York Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
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