Kansas Plumbing Industry: Statistics and Data

The Kansas plumbing sector encompasses licensed contractors, journeymen, master plumbers, and apprentices operating under a state-administered licensing framework. This page consolidates workforce figures, licensing counts, industry structure, and economic scope data drawn from public regulatory and labor sources. Understanding the statistical dimensions of this sector informs hiring decisions, policy analysis, workforce planning, and regulatory compliance tracking across the state.

Definition and scope

The Kansas plumbing industry, as a statistical category, includes all commercial and residential plumbing activity performed by licensed professionals operating under the authority of the Kansas State Plumbing Board and the Kansas Department of Labor. The sector spans installation, maintenance, repair, and inspection of potable water systems, drain-waste-vent (DWV) infrastructure, gas piping, and associated fixtures across residential, commercial, and industrial settings.

Industry data at the state level is sourced from several distinct streams: occupational employment statistics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), licensing counts maintained by the Kansas State Plumbing Board, and construction industry data aggregated by the Kansas Department of Labor. Each data stream uses different classification boundaries — the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program classifies plumbers under SOC code 47-2152 (Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters), which groups occupations that may be regulated separately at the state licensing level.

Scope boundaries: This page covers statistical and structural data specific to the state of Kansas. It does not address federal prevailing wage data under the Davis-Bacon Act, multi-state workforce metrics, or plumbing industry statistics for bordering states including Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Municipal-level employment figures reported independently by Kansas City, Wichita, or Topeka fall outside this page's coverage unless aggregated into statewide totals. For the full regulatory framework underlying workforce qualifications, see Regulatory Context for Kansas Plumbing.

How it works

Labor market data for Kansas plumbers is compiled on an annual basis through the BLS OEWS survey, which samples employers across industries to estimate occupational employment and wages. The survey uses a 3-year rolling sample, meaning published state-level figures represent an average across multiple survey periods rather than a single-year snapshot.

According to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, Kansas employment in the plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters category is measured in the hundreds of licensed practitioners, with the state consistently placing in the mid-range tier among Plains states for total plumbing employment. The BLS reports median annual wages for this SOC category in Kansas, which have tracked below the national median for this occupation code — the national median for SOC 47-2152 stood at approximately $61,550 as of the May 2023 OEWS release (BLS OEWS May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates).

Licensing counts represent a parallel data stream. The Kansas State Plumbing Board maintains records of active licenses across four primary categories: apprentice, journeyman, master plumber, and contractor. Active license counts fluctuate based on renewal cycles, examination pass rates, and reciprocity arrangements with other states. For a detailed breakdown of license classifications and qualification requirements, the Kansas Plumbing License Types and Requirements reference provides the relevant regulatory structure.

The workforce pipeline also intersects with apprenticeship enrollment data tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship. Kansas apprenticeship programs registered under the National Apprenticeship Act report enrollment and completion figures through the DOL Apprenticeship Data and Statistics portal.

Common scenarios

Statistical data on the Kansas plumbing industry surfaces in five primary operational contexts:

1. Workforce planning by contractors — Plumbing contractors analyzing regional labor supply consult BLS state-level data to benchmark wage offers and project hiring timelines. Kansas construction employment figures, published by the Kansas Department of Labor Research and Analysis, disaggregate specialty trade contractors from general construction.

2. Licensing board compliance analysis — Regulatory bodies track pass rates for journeyman and master plumber examinations to identify trends in workforce qualification. Examination pass rates inform continuing education requirements and exam preparation resources such as those outlined on Kansas Plumbing Exam Preparation.

3. Academic and policy research — Economic researchers referencing the Kansas plumbing sector draw on NAICS code 238220 (Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors) data from the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns program, which publishes annual establishment counts, employment ranges, and payroll figures at the state and county level.

4. Insurance underwriting — Insurers evaluating contractor bonding and liability exposure reference workforce size and claims history, intersecting with data categories covered under Kansas Plumbing Insurance and Bonding.

5. Municipal code and permitting volume analysis — Local jurisdictions track permit issuance rates as a proxy for plumbing sector activity. Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City (KS) each publish annual permitting reports through their respective building and development departments.

Decision boundaries

Interpreting Kansas plumbing industry statistics requires clear distinctions between overlapping data categories:

• SOC 47-2152 vs. licensed plumber counts — BLS employment estimates include workers in pipefitting and steamfitting roles who may not hold a Kansas plumbing license. The SOC category is broader than the licensing category.
• Establishment counts vs. individual licensees — NAICS 238220 counts business entities, not individual license holders. A single firm may employ 12 licensed journeymen while counting as 1 establishment in Census data.
• Active vs. inactive licenses — The Kansas State Plumbing Board distinguishes between active, inactive, and expired license statuses. Workforce availability analyses should reference only active license counts.
• Residential vs. commercial sector splits — BLS industry staffing patterns separate residential building construction from commercial sectors, affecting how plumbing employment is distributed across industry codes. See Residential Plumbing in Kansas and Commercial Plumbing in Kansas for the regulatory distinctions that correspond to these classifications.

The Kansas Plumbing Industry overview situates these statistical categories within the broader regulatory and licensing landscape of the state.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), SOC 47-2152, Kansas
• Kansas Department of Labor — Labor Market Information and Research
• U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns, NAICS 238220
• U.S. Department of Labor — Office of Apprenticeship Data and Statistics
• Kansas State Plumbing Board — Kansas Department of Health and Environment
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — National and State Downloads