Pay by state · 45 states

Pipelayer Salary by State (2026)

Pipelayers earn the most in Wisconsin at $86,870 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $25,620 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $49,000. All 45 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$86,870Wisconsin
National median
$49,000BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$25,620Puerto Rico
States reporting
45of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Pipelayer salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of pipelayers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1WIWisconsin
$86,870
$80,990$93,550350$92,322
2WAWashington
$82,450
$70,110$95,1801,050$77,047
3MNMinnesota
$81,980
$75,840$95,040510$83,126
4NJNew Jersey
$78,830
$63,360$97,310400$72,451
5CACalifornia
$76,180
$61,870$94,5601,420$68,804
6INIndiana
$73,580
$52,040$91,860800$78,839
7MAMassachusetts
$72,770
$63,020$86,550N/A$68,809
8OHOhio
$71,560
$59,530$79,7201,160$77,134
9NYNew York
$70,370
$52,510$80,370250$65,205
10OROregon
$64,230
$57,820$75,240620$62,141
11NVNevada
$63,570
$48,650$75,820450$63,583
12AZArizona
$62,740
$56,510$65,710480$62,318
13MIMichigan
$61,560
$57,110$77,570180$63,980
14COColorado
$59,740
$50,710$69,720790$57,971
15KYKentucky
$58,820
$53,880$58,83060$65,240
16IDIdaho
$58,650
$47,580$65,210280$61,417
17DEDelaware
$58,240
$46,700$59,840N/A$58,352
18MDMaryland
$55,640
$49,910$60,890650$53,011
19DCDistrict of Columbia
$55,470
$50,850$59,830110$50,473
20IAIowa
$53,990
$50,190$57,800280$61,519
21NHNew Hampshire
$53,870
$41,670$61,170210$51,716
22UTUtah
$52,000
$49,620$57,220530$52,598
23MEMaine
$50,980
$47,530$65,050110$52,530
24SDSouth Dakota
$50,650
$43,160$56,750300$57,176
25ILIllinois
$49,590
$45,700$55,950280$49,611
26VAVirginia
$48,700
$44,020$56,8701,080$48,168
27MTMontana
$48,080
$47,480$62,17080$50,800
28NDNorth Dakota
$47,810
$47,580$49,140170$53,744
29KSKansas
$47,390
$45,160$48,730240$52,616
30FLFlorida
$47,260
$43,820$49,8004,050$45,700
31NCNorth Carolina
$47,220
$42,200$51,8803,830$50,060
32GAGeorgia
$46,220
$39,050$50,4401,890$47,999
33TNTennessee
$46,020
$41,800$48,970810$50,093
34TXTexas
$45,620
$39,870$49,4905,010$47,003
35NMNew Mexico
$45,550
$42,020$48,240190$49,397
36OKOklahoma
$45,190
$38,770$51,900530$51,444
37SCSouth Carolina
$45,180
$38,960$49,490670$48,193
38ALAlabama
$44,550
$36,440$49,700460$50,156
39NENebraska
$44,470
$38,100$55,720570$49,355
40LALouisiana
$44,340
$37,380$48,250N/A$50,268
41MSMississippi
$41,900
$36,930$48,300320$48,187
42PAPennsylvania
$41,600
$41,600$61,230590$42,635
43WVWest Virginia
$40,440
$35,850$46,950180$45,186
44ARArkansas
$37,650
$36,440$40,210430$43,307
45PRPuerto Rico
$25,620
$23,900$33,060180N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Pipelayers, that changes the ranking: Wisconsin leads on raw pay at $86,870, while Wisconsin leads once prices are taken into account at $92,322.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Pipelayer pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Pipelayers the most?

Wisconsin reports the highest median wage for Pipelayers at $86,870 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($82,450) and Minnesota ($81,980).

Which state pays Pipelayers the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Pipelayers at $25,620 a year, $61,250 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Pipelayers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Wisconsin first at $92,322 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $86,870. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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