Plumber Salary in Green Bay, WI: Median $53,549 in 2026
Green Bay (WI) · COL index 87 · Unemployment 3.3% · Metro pop 320,000 · Rank #233 of 283 for Plumber salary
A Plumber in Green Bay earns an estimated median of $53,549 per year. That figure starts from the Wisconsin state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($57,377) and scales it by Green Bay's composite cost-of-living index of 87 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $42,119; the 90th percentile reaches $98,927. After federal, Wisconsin state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Plumber takes home approximately $43,470/year — about $3,623/month or $1,672 every other week.
Compared to the national Plumber median of $61,550, Green Bay pays -13.0%. Relative to the Green Bay median household income of $55,800, a Plumbersalary runs -4.0%. Local unemployment is 3.3%[3], with an estimated 70 annual Plumber openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (490,800).
Plumber Snapshot — Green Bay (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 | Green Bay | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber median salary | $53,549 | $61,550 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $42,119 | $45,130 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $98,927 | $106,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $43,470 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $337,974 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,122/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,025/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $77,459 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 87.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.3% | — | [3] |
How Plumber Salaries Work in Green Bay
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Wisconsin state-level OEWS median ($57,377) and scaling by Green Bay's composite cost-of-living index (87)[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 Wisconsin state income tax at a 3.1% effective rate ($1,686/yr on the $53,549 median)[10].
Green Bay 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 $77,459, which frames what "a good Plumber salary" means locally: a $$53,549 wage pays about 69% 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 — Green Bay
Estimated annual expense shares on a $43,470 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Green Bay's COL index of 87. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Green Bay's COL index of 87[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $900/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Green Bay
Renting
Buying
At $3,623/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,087/mo. Green Bay's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,122/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,025/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Plumber salary. For homebuyers, the 4.2× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Green Bay Stacks Up for Plumbers
Against 283 major US cities: Green Bay ranks #233 for nominal Plumber salary, #45 for rent affordability, and #56 for overall purchasing power. Green Bay is mid-pack: solid nominal salaries partly absorbed by cost of living. Whether it "pays well" depends heavily on housing choices.
Nearby Cities — Plumber Salary Comparison
Green Bay'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 WI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay, WI ★ | $53,549 | 87 | $900 | — |
| Milwaukee, WI | $55,395 | 90 | $1,195 | +3.4% |
| Madison, WI | $62,781 | 102 | $1,499 | +17.2% |
| Appleton, WI | $54,164 | 88 | $900 | +1.1% |
| Lubbock, TX | $53,549 | 87 | $875 | +0.0% |
| Amarillo, TX | $53,549 | 87 | $850 | +0.0% |
Plumber Job Market in Green Bay
Green Bay has an estimated 70 annual Plumberopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 490,800 national Plumbers[1]. The 3.3% 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 Green Bay
Early-career Plumbers in Green Bay start around $42,119, reach the city median ($53,549) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($98,927) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Green Bay
Calculators for Plumbers in Green Bay
Other professions in Green Bay
Frequently Asked Questions — Plumber in Green Bay
How much does a Plumber make in Green Bay, WI?
The estimated median salary for a Plumber in Green Bay is $53,549/year, scaled from the national median ($61,550) by Green Bay's composite cost-of-living index of 87 (US = 100). After federal, Wisconsin state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $43,470/year or $3,623/month.
Can a Plumber afford to live in Green Bay?
On $3,623/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,087/month. Green Bay's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,122/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,025/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 20.2%, making housing very affordable for a Plumber at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.2× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.2 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Plumber pay in Green Bay?
On $53,549 gross, a Plumber in Green Bay pays approximately $4,297 in federal income tax (8.0% effective), $1,686 in Wisconsin state income tax (3.1% effective), and $4,096 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 18.8%. Some Wisconsin cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Green Bay rank for Plumber salaries vs other cities?
Green Bay ranks #233 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Plumber salary, #45 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #56 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 Green Bay?
On $43,470 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Green Bay looks like: housing $10,800/yr (24.8%); food $4,810/yr; transportation $4,121/yr; healthcare $2,924/yr; utilities $2,032/yr; savings + discretionary $18,783/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Green Bay's COL index of 87 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Plumber job market like in Green Bay?
Green Bay's unemployment rate is 3.3% across the metro of 320,000. Estimated annual Plumber openings: ~70 (extrapolated from 490,800 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Green Bay employers pay above or below the Wisconsin median for Plumbers?
Not consistently — Green Bay's estimated Plumber median of $53,549 is 13.0% 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 Green Bay median is derived from the Wisconsin state-level BLS OEWS median ($57,377), scaled by Green Bay's composite cost-of-living index of 87. 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 Wisconsin'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 87index 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 = 93.2(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 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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