WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Plumbers · Washington

AI for plumbers in Washington

The Washington metro area had 1,663 plumbers in 2022, the 11th most of 387 US metros and 2% of all in the country. They employed 26,225 people at an average of $76,189 a year. 72% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Plumbers in Washington vs the US

Washington metroUnited States
Businesses1,663109,601
People employed26,2251,176,759
Average staff per business15.810.7
Average yearly pay per employee$76,189$69,883
Share with fewer than 10 staff72%77%

Pay here is 9% higher than the national average for plumbers, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average plumbing company here has 15.8 people on payroll, 47% higher than the US figure of 10.7.

How big plumbers in Washington are

Fewer than 5 staff921 (55%) US 58%
5 to 9281 (17%) US 19%
10 to 19205 (12%) US 12%
20 to 49142 (9%) US 7%
50 or more111 (7%) US 4%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Plumbers by county in the Washington area

Fairfax County has the most, with 299 of the metro's 1,663 (18%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Washington ranks 6th for average pay and 10th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Fairfax County2992,847$70,054
Montgomery County2684,111$79,216
Prince George's County2387,574$80,726
Prince William County1842,608$77,864
Loudoun County1222,432$83,043
Frederick County1181,363$68,873
Charles County681,012$70,949
Stafford County66353$55,810
Spotsylvania County53283$56,364
Fauquier County48463$65,240
District of Columbia351,650$74,950
Culpeper County26117$51,735

11 smaller counties not shown. Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a plumbing company first

A plumber should automate the phone first, because every call you miss while under a sink is a job that goes to the next name on Google. After that come quotes, dispatch notes and follow-up on estimates. AI sorts and drafts, and you stay in charge of diagnosis, safety and price.

What your team's admin hours cost in Washington

Change any number. The starting values are the Washington averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$236,800 a year

The share you would hand off$71,040 a year

Hours your team gets back1,920 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for plumbers, one job each

Plumbers in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles3,681$76,3312nd
New York7,675$77,9061st
Chicago3,093$83,8543rd
Miami2,568$56,1244th
Dallas2,336$71,4685th
Houston1,890$70,0788th
Atlanta1,783$69,3019th
Philadelphia2,113$80,5937th
Boston2,179$89,8616th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 238220 (Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors), for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (23 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

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Related businesses in Washington

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