---
title: "Will AI Replace Plumbers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates plumbers' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+6.8% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-plumbers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Plumbers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places plumbers in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +6.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 42,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 64/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +6.8% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 42,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $63,800 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing general physical activities: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Getting information: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 3.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Scheduling work and activities: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repetitive motions: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
- Install pipe assemblies, fittings, valves, appliances such as dishwashers or water heaters, or fixtures such as sinks or toilets, using hand or power tools.
- Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
- Fill pipes or plumbing fixtures with water or air and observe pressure gauges to detect and locate leaks.
- Review blueprints, building codes, or specifications to determine work details or procedures.
- Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than plumbers

- [Construction Laborer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/construction-laborer): BLS exposure Low, median $47,120; [Will AI replace construction laborers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-construction-laborers)
- [Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/roofer): BLS exposure Low, median $55,440; [Will AI replace roofers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-roofers)
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $59,850; [Will AI replace heavy equipment operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-heavy-equipment-operators)
- [Sheet Metal Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sheet-metal-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $61,800; [Will AI replace sheet metal workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-sheet-metal-workers)
- [Glazier](https://nuecareer.com/careers/glazier): BLS exposure Low, median $57,080
- [Pipelayer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pipelayer): BLS exposure Low, median $49,000

## FAQ

**Will AI replace plumbers?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +6.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 42,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are plumbers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Plumbers are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a plumber's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are getting information, processing information and scheduling work and activities. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, hands-on work with tools and objects and performing general physical activities. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a plumber a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, plumbers score 64 out of 100, higher than 92% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $63,800 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to plumbers are less exposed to AI?**

Construction Laborer (low exposure, $47,120 median), Roofer (low exposure, $55,440 median), Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator (low exposure, $59,850 median), Sheet Metal Worker (low exposure, $61,800 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than plumbers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/plumber.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology