Plumbing Industry Revenue: The Census Puts Plumbing Contractors at $75.1 Billion
The short answer
Plumbing-primary contractors with employees took in $75.1 billion in 2022, according to the Census Bureau’s 2022 Economic Census, up 40.1 percent from $53.6 billion in 2017. That is 25.2 percent of the $297.6 billion earned by all plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, a split by trade that most published market estimates do not use. HVAC-primary contractors earned $121.7 billion.
The short version
Published estimates of the size of the US plumbing industry vary widely, depending on whether they fold in HVAC, materials distribution, manufacturing or utilities. The Economic Census answers a narrower and more useful question: how much revenue did plumbing contractors with employees actually report? Every five years the Census Bureau asks every establishment in NAICS 238220 what kind of contractor it primarily is. Plumbing contractors are one of nine answers. Which buildings that revenue comes from, homes or commercial, is covered in plumbing contractor revenue by building type. Where that revenue is spent, from materials to payroll, is broken down in our cost structure report.
| Primary kind of business (NAICS 238220) | Revenue 2022 | Revenue 2017 | Change | Share of 2022 total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC contractor | $121.7 billion | $89.6 billion | +35.9% | 40.9% |
| Plumbing contractor | $75.1 billion | $53.6 billion | +40.1% | 25.2% |
| Mechanical contractor | $54.4 billion | $34.2 billion | +58.8% | 18.3% |
| Building sprinkler system contractor | $11.4 billion | $6.3 billion | +81.6% | 3.8% |
| Refrigeration contractor | $7.9 billion | $5.6 billion | +40.3% | 2.6% |
| Electrical contractor | $5.2 billion | $2.4 billion | +118.4% | 1.8% |
| Steam and pipe fitting contractor | $4.7 billion | $3.6 billion | +29.2% | 1.6% |
| Boiler, pipe and duct insulation contractor | $2.3 billion | $1.9 billion | +22.8% | 0.8% |
| Lawn sprinkler contractor | $1.7 billion | $1.8 billion | -9.7% | 0.6% |
| All plumbing, heating and AC contractors | $297.6 billion | $206.2 billion | +44.3% | 100% |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 and 2017 Economic Census, construction kind-of-business tables (EC2223KOB, EC1723KOB), NAICS 238220, employer establishments. Rows do not sum to the total because smaller kinds of business are omitted.
What the sources actually say
- Revenue of establishments whose primary kind of business is plumbing, 2022: $75.1 billion. 2017: $53.6 billion. Source: Census Bureau, Economic Census.
- All NAICS 238220 revenue, 2022: $297.6 billion from 114,427 establishments and 112,088 firms. Source: Census Bureau.
- HVAC-primary contractors, 2022: $121.7 billion; mechanical contractors $54.4 billion. Source: Census Bureau.
- Plumbing-primary revenue growth 2017 to 2022: +40.1 percent nominal; about +17.3 percent after CPI-U inflation. Source: calculated from Census Bureau and BLS CPI.
- Self-employed plumbing and HVAC businesses without employees, 2022: 172,841 with receipts of $13.5 billion, not included above. Source: Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics.
- Largest state markets for plumbing-primary contractors: California $10.1 billion, Texas $8.3 billion, Florida $5.7 billion, New York $3.8 billion, Illinois $2.8 billion. Source: Census Bureau.
By state
| State | Plumbing-contractor revenue 2022 | Per resident | Share of state’s plumbing/HVAC revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $10.1 billion | $259 | 31.5% |
| Texas | $8.3 billion | $277 | 32.8% |
| Florida | $5.7 billion | $257 | 29.6% |
| New York | $3.8 billion | $192 | 21.6% |
| Illinois | $2.8 billion | $223 | 23.0% |
| Massachusetts | $2.6 billion | $365 | 26.1% |
| Pennsylvania | $2.4 billion | $189 | 22.1% |
| Georgia | $2.4 billion | $218 | 25.4% |
| Ohio | $2.1 billion | $183 | 22.9% |
| Arizona | $2.1 billion | $286 | 29.8% |
| Washington | $1.9 billion | $248 | 20.4% |
| North Carolina | $1.8 billion | $172 | 18.7% |
| Maryland | $1.8 billion | $288 | 21.1% |
| Colorado | $1.8 billion | $304 | 29.4% |
| New Jersey | $1.7 billion | $182 | 21.0% |
| Michigan | $1.7 billion | $164 | 22.8% |
| Virginia | $1.6 billion | $188 | 20.3% |
| Minnesota | $1.5 billion | $261 | 26.2% |
| Wisconsin | $1.3 billion | $227 | 23.1% |
| Indiana | $1.3 billion | $189 | 18.6% |
| Nevada | $1.2 billion | $373 | 31.4% |
| Utah | $1.1 billion | $329 | 32.0% |
| Oregon | $1.0 billion | $225 | 23.0% |
| Tennessee | $0.9 billion | $133 | 17.0% |
| Missouri | $0.9 billion | $151 | 17.2% |
| Alabama | $0.8 billion | $162 | 21.3% |
| Oklahoma | $0.8 billion | $198 | 31.0% |
| Connecticut | $0.8 billion | $216 | 27.8% |
| Idaho | $0.8 billion | $391 | 39.0% |
| South Carolina | $0.8 billion | $144 | 17.2% |
| Louisiana | $0.8 billion | $164 | 25.0% |
| Kentucky | $0.7 billion | $159 | 24.0% |
| Kansas | $0.7 billion | $230 | 26.2% |
| Iowa | $0.7 billion | $209 | 20.7% |
| Nebraska | $0.4 billion | $222 | 19.0% |
| Arkansas | $0.4 billion | $134 | 19.2% |
| New Mexico | $0.4 billion | $182 | 33.2% |
| Montana | $0.4 billion | $328 | 35.3% |
| Maine | $0.3 billion | $231 | 27.3% |
| Hawaii | $0.3 billion | $220 | 24.8% |
| New Hampshire | $0.3 billion | $212 | 23.1% |
| Mississippi | $0.3 billion | $90 | 17.5% |
| Delaware | $0.3 billion | $250 | 22.7% |
| Rhode Island | $0.2 billion | $189 | 15.5% |
| South Dakota | $0.2 billion | $224 | 24.8% |
| Wyoming | $0.2 billion | $350 | 39.9% |
| North Dakota | $0.2 billion | $195 | 18.6% |
| Alaska | $0.2 billion | $206 | 28.0% |
| District of Columbia | $0.1 billion | $175 | 23.5% |
| West Virginia | $0.1 billion | $64 | 19.2% |
| Vermont | $0.1 billion | $154 | 18.2% |
Source: Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, kind-of-business table; per-resident values use Census Bureau 2022 population estimates. States where the Census Bureau withheld the figure are omitted.
Our checks
The plumbing-contractor market is $75 billion, not $300 billion
Formula. Revenue of plumbing-primary employer establishments, against the total for NAICS 238220.
Calculation. $75.1 billion / $297.6 billion = 25.2 percent.
Finding. Quoting the whole NAICS 238220 total as ‘the plumbing industry’ roughly quadruples the plumbing-contractor market, because most of that revenue is earned by HVAC, mechanical and sprinkler contractors. Self-employed plumbing and HVAC operators without employees add $13.5 billion for both trades combined.
Limitations. The split is by primary activity, so plumbing work done by HVAC and mechanical contractors is not in the $75.1 billion, and HVAC work done by plumbing shops is. Neither direction is measured.
Real growth of about 17 percent in five years
Formula. Nominal growth deflated by the change in the CPI-U annual average.
Calculation. ($75.1 billion / $53.6 billion) / (292.655 / 245.12) = 1.173.
Finding. The plumbing-contractor market grew faster than inflation between 2017 and 2022, though more slowly than the HVAC side of the industry in absolute dollars.
Limitations. Contractor prices rose faster than the CPI over the period (see our price index report), so part of the real growth is price rather than volume.
The corrected figure to use
- US plumbing contractors with employees: $75.1 billion in revenue (2022 Economic Census).
- All plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors: $297.6 billion.
- Plumbing-contractor revenue grew 40 percent from 2017 to 2022.
Download the data
National kind-of-business breakdown for both census years and every disclosed state. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Attribution: The Plumbing Brief.
How this report was built
Methodology
Source. US Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census and 2017 Economic Census, files downloaded from www2.census.gov on 4 October 2026. Kind-of-business tables (EC2223KOB, EC1723KOB) for NAICS 238220, codes 8224 (plumbing contractor), 8220 (HVAC), 8223 (mechanical) and others; establishments report their primary kind of business on the census form.
Derived figures. Shares, growth rates, per-firm and per-employee values are calculated by The Plumbing Brief from the published tables.
Retrieval date. 4 October 2026.
Data limitations
- The Economic Census counts employer establishments only. Businesses with no employees are covered by Nonemployer Statistics, reported separately.
- NAICS 238220 combines plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors. The kind-of-business split classifies each establishment by its primary activity; a plumbing-primary shop’s HVAC work is counted as plumbing-contractor revenue and vice versa.
- The Economic Census runs every five years. 2022 is the latest; 2027 results will follow around 2029.
- Revenue figures are nominal dollars. Inflation adjustments use the CPI-U annual average and are approximate for an industry whose input costs moved differently.
- Some state values are withheld by the Census Bureau to avoid disclosing individual businesses.
Source quality ranking
Tier 1. US Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census (construction sector files EC2223KOB, EC2223BASIC and the firm-size and product-line datasets ECNSIZE2022 and ECNNAPCSIND2022) and the 2017 Economic Census equivalents, downloaded from www2.census.gov.
Tier 2. None used. Tier 3. None used.
Excluded. Paid market-research estimates of plumbing industry size, which do not publish their method and differ widely from one another.
Correction summary
Plumbing contractors with employees reported $75.1 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the Census Bureau’s 2022 Economic Census, up 40.1 percent from $53.6 billion in 2017. The figure covers establishments whose primary kind of business is plumbing and is about a quarter of the $297.6 billion earned by all plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors; HVAC-primary contractors earned $121.7 billion. An analysis by The Plumbing Brief found the largest state markets in California, Texas, Florida.
How to frame it
- The real size of the plumbing contracting industry: $75 billion
- Plumbing is a quarter of the plumbing and HVAC trade by revenue
- Plumbing contractor revenue grew 40 percent in five years
- Why industry size estimates for plumbing disagree
Questions about the correction
How big is the plumbing industry in the US? Plumbing-primary contractors with employees earned $75.1 billion in 2022 (Census Bureau, Economic Census). All plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors earned $297.6 billion.
Why do plumbing market size estimates differ so much? Most include HVAC contractors, product manufacturing or distribution. The Census figure here is plumbing-primary contractors only.
How fast is the plumbing industry growing? Plumbing-contractor revenue grew 40.1 percent from 2017 to 2022, about 17 percent after inflation.
Which state has the largest plumbing market? California, at $10.1 billion in 2022.
Does this include self-employed plumbers? No. Businesses without employees are counted separately: 172,841 plumbing and HVAC nonemployers with $13.5 billion in receipts in 2022.
How to cite this report
The Plumbing Brief, “Plumbing Industry Revenue: The Census Puts Plumbing Contractors at $75.1 Billion”, https://theplumbingbrief.com/plumbing-industry-revenue/, accessed [date].
Last reviewed: 2026-10-04.
