Plumber Salary in Ann Arbor, MI: Median $71,398 in 2026
Ann Arbor (MI) · COL index 116 · Unemployment 3.0% · Metro pop 370,000 · Rank #56 of 283 for Plumber salary
A Plumber in Ann Arbor earns an estimated median of $71,398 per year. That figure starts from the Michigan state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($58,039) and scales it by Ann Arbor's composite cost-of-living index of 116 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $55,518; the 90th percentile reaches $130,398. After federal, Michigan state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Plumber takes home approximately $55,992/year — about $4,666/month or $2,154 every other week.
Compared to the national Plumber median of $61,550, Ann Arbor pays +16.0%. Relative to the Ann Arbor median household income of $78,600, a Plumbersalary runs -9.2%. Local unemployment is 3.0%[3], with an estimated 81 annual Plumber openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (490,800).
Plumber Snapshot — Ann Arbor (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 | Ann Arbor | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber median salary | $71,398 | $61,550 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $55,518 | $45,130 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $130,398 | $106,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $55,992 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $413,404 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $2,082/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,925/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $87,156 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 116.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0% | — | [3] |
How Plumber Salaries Work in Ann Arbor
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Michigan state-level OEWS median ($58,039) and scaling by Ann Arbor's composite cost-of-living index (116)[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 Michigan state income tax at a 3.9% effective rate ($2,788/yr on the $71,398 median)[10].
Ann Arbor 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 $87,156, which frames what "a good Plumber salary" means locally: a $$71,398 wage pays about 82% 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.
Plumber Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Ann Arbor
Buy vs rent in Ann Arbor
Monthly PITI on the $413,404 median home in Ann Arbor is ~$3,118/mo — vs a $2,082/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 28.7%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Ann Arbor
Estimated annual expense shares on a $55,992 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Ann Arbor's COL index of 116. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Ann Arbor's COL index of 116[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,730/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Ann Arbor
Renting
Buying
At $4,666/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,400/mo. Ann Arbor's typical 1–2BR rent runs $2,082/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,925/mo), making rent affordable on a median Plumber salary. For homebuyers, the 5.9× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Ann Arbor Stacks Up for Plumbers
Against 283 major US cities: Ann Arbor ranks #56 for nominal Plumber salary, #223 for rent affordability, and #228 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Ann Arbor'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
Ann Arbor'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 MI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Arbor, MI ★ | $71,398 | 116 | $1,730 | — |
| Detroit, MI | $54,164 | 88 | $900 | -24.1% |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $57,857 | 94 | $1,157 | -19.0% |
| Lansing, MI | $54,164 | 88 | $950 | -24.1% |
| Flint, MI | $47,394 | 77 | $750 | -33.6% |
| Kalamazoo, MI | $52,933 | 86 | $1,000 | -25.9% |
Plumber Job Market in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor has an estimated 81 annual Plumberopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 490,800 national Plumbers[1]. The 3.0% 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 Ann Arbor
Early-career Plumbers in Ann Arbor start around $55,518, reach the city median ($71,398) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($130,398) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Ann Arbor
Calculators for Plumbers in Ann Arbor
Other professions in Ann Arbor
Frequently Asked Questions — Plumber in Ann Arbor
How much does a Plumber make in Ann Arbor, MI?
The estimated median salary for a Plumber in Ann Arbor is $71,398/year, scaled from the national median ($61,550) by Ann Arbor's composite cost-of-living index of 116 (US = 100). After federal, Michigan state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $55,992/year or $4,666/month.
Can a Plumber afford to live in Ann Arbor?
On $4,666/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,400/month. Ann Arbor's Zillow ZORI median rent is $2,082/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,925/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 29.1%, making housing affordable for a Plumber at the local median. Home-buyers face 5.9× price-to-income, needing roughly 5.9 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Plumber pay in Ann Arbor?
On $71,398 gross, a Plumber in Ann Arbor pays approximately $7,156 in federal income tax (10.0% effective), $2,788 in Michigan state income tax (3.9% effective), and $5,462 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 21.6%. Some Michigan cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Ann Arbor rank for Plumber salaries vs other cities?
Ann Arbor ranks #56 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Plumber salary, #223 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #228 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 Ann Arbor?
On $55,992 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Ann Arbor looks like: housing $20,760/yr (37.1%); food $7,364/yr; transportation $5,958/yr; healthcare $4,108/yr; utilities $3,024/yr; savings + discretionary $14,778/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Ann Arbor's COL index of 116 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Plumber job market like in Ann Arbor?
Ann Arbor's unemployment rate is 3.0% across the metro of 370,000. Estimated annual Plumber openings: ~81 (extrapolated from 490,800 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Ann Arbor employers pay above or below the Michigan median for Plumbers?
Yes — Ann Arbor's estimated Plumber median of $71,398 is 16.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Ann Arbor median is derived from the Michigan state-level BLS OEWS median ($58,039), scaled by Ann Arbor's composite cost-of-living index of 116. 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 Michigan'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 116index 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 = 94.3(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.
- Michigan 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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