What Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters earn in Alameda County, CA
According to the latest federal wage data for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, the median pay for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Alameda County, CA is $77,880 a year, or $37.44 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $60,219 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Alameda County, CA.
The mean wage is $92,380, which is 18.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,660 people working in this occupation across the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Alameda County, CA has roughly 1,649,473 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $48,540 a year ($23.34 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $155,330 or more ($74.68 an hour). That is a gap of $106,790 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $62,650 at the 25th percentile and $121,770 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 3.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $37.44 an hour or $77,880 a year at the median for Alameda County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $6,490 a month, $2,995 every two weeks and $1,498 each week. After taxes the same job pays $28.95 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters this way: "Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders"; "Lay out full scale drawings of pipe systems, supports, or related equipment, according to blueprints"; "Inspect, examine, or test installed systems or pipe lines, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation, or other methods"; "Plan pipe system layout, installation, or repair, according to specifications".
Job outlook for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 510,600 jobs in 2025 to 545,200 in 2035, a change of +6.8%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 42,000 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.2% of current employment each year. About 8.0% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: apprenticeship. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $63,800 for this occupation; the Alameda County, CA median of $77,880 is 22.1% above it.
How pay in Alameda County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
A worker in this occupation in Alameda County, CA earns $5,262 more than the California average of $72,618, a premium of 7.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $5,262 before tax and roughly $4,069 after tax. Within California, Alameda County, CA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters is $69,450 across the contiguous United States. At $77,880, Alameda County, CA pays $8,430 more, which is 12.1% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Alameda County, CA
Among the 601 occupations with published wages in Alameda County, CA, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters ranks number 324 by median pay, ahead of about 46% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Chief Executives at $288,690 a year, which is $210,810 more than the median for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters earning the Alameda County, CA median of $77,880, they add up to $17,661. The result is $60,219 of take-home pay a year ($5,018 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $62,130. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $8,583, an effective 11.0% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,829 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,129. FICA totals $5,958, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $3,121 a year, or 4.0% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 36% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $260 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Alameda County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Alameda County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $146,726 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.1% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 10.1%, compared with the 11.0% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Alameda County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Alameda County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $60,219 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Alameda County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,290 a month ($27,480 a year), and at $2,805 for two bedrooms. For Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, a one-bedroom absorbs 45.6% of take-home pay and 35.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.4% of gross pay for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Alameda County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $37,091 a year in Alameda County, CA. Subtract that from $60,219 of take-home pay and $23,127 remains, which is $1,927 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 29.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Alameda County, CA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Alameda County, CA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Alameda County, CA, set beside the California and national medians.
Property taxes in Alameda County, CA
Homeowners in Alameda County, CA pay a median of $8,474 a year in real estate taxes, 65% above the California median of $5,124 and 172% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $1,090,100, the median tax bill is 0.78% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters median of $77,880, a tax bill of that size would equal 10.9% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Alameda County, CA
Renters in Alameda County, CA pay a median gross rent of $2,357 a month in the Census survey, 16% above the California median of $2,036. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,290 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $1,090,100, 48% above the California median of $734,700. Median household income is $129,367, 31% above the California median of $99,122, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.2% of that income.
Commuting in Alameda County, CA
Workers in Alameda County, CA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 31.0 minutes each way, 8% above the California average of 28.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 25.7% of workers in Alameda County, CA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters afford to live in Alameda County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $77,880 that ceiling is $1,947 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,290 is $343 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $44.04 an hour; the median for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters is $37.44, which is 15% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $28.95 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 18.3 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,805 a month means $1,403 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $10,650 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $33,777.
How fast you can save
At $1,927 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters pay in Alameda County, CA
How much do Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters make per hour in Alameda County, CA?
The median is $37.44 per hour, based on $77,880 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $23.34 at the 10th percentile to $74.68 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters take home after taxes in Alameda County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $77,880 becomes $60,219 a year. That is $5,018 a month, $2,316 every two weeks or $1,158 a week.
How much tax do Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters pay in Alameda County, CA?
Total taxes are $17,661 a year, an effective rate of 22.7%: $8,583 federal income tax, $5,958 FICA and $3,121 California income tax.
Do Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters earn more in Alameda County, CA than elsewhere in California?
Yes. The local median of $77,880 is +7.3% versus the California average of $72,618, a difference of $5,262 a year.
Can Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters afford a one-bedroom apartment in Alameda County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,290 a month against take-home pay of $5,018, which is 45.6% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,947 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Alameda County, CA?
About $1,927 a month ($23,127 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $37,091 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Alameda County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$44.04 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $27,480 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters is $37.44.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the California rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.