The plumbing industry keeps changing, with new trends, smarter tools, and homeowners who expect more from every service call. Water heater technology, leak detection, labor shortages, and shifting customer habits all shape how plumbing companies win and keep work. Staying on top of these changes helps you run a tighter operation, stay ahead of local competitors, and offer the services your customers actually want.
We’ve gathered over 40 key plumbing industry statistics to inform your business strategies in 2026. These include the industry’s economic impact, workforce insights, market drivers, marketing statistics, customer expectations and behavior, and top industry trends.
We’ll also explore how ServiceTitan, a comprehensive business management solution, can help plumbing businesses leverage data insights.
Disclaimer: All statistics are accurate as of September 2026.
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Plumbing Industry Overview and Economic Impact
This section covers statistics on current market size, growth trends, key industry segments, the plumbing industry’s contribution to the economy, and more:
The plumbing market in the United States is valued at an estimated $208.1 billion in 2026, according to IBISWorld (source).
Revenue has expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9 percent over the past five years (source).
The European plumbing and HVAC installation market is worth about $311 billion (€273.6 billion) in 2026, growing at an average of 2.2 percent per year from 2020 to 2025 (source).
The global market value of plumbing fixtures and fittings is $123.37 billion in 2026, having grown at a CAGR of 7.9 percent in the previous 12 months (source).
The plumbing pipes industry is predicted to grow from 2024 to 2028 at a CAGR of 14.69 percent (source).
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Plumber Workforce Insights
The statistics below focus on employment and the people making up the plumbing workforce:
The highest concentration of employed plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is found in York (West) and Cumberland (West) in Southern Maine; Queens, Ridgewood, Maspeth, and Middle Village in New York; and Harris County (East) and Baytown City in Texas (source).
The average age of plumbers in the U.S. is 41 for men and 40 for women (source).
Around 2.5 percent of plumbers and 13 percent of apprentice plumbers are women (source).
The average plumbing professional’s salary in the United States is $89,654 per year (source).
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters earn more in manufacturing than in heavy and civil engineering construction (source).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the number of plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters employed in the plumbing industry at 510,600 (source).
There is a plumbing labor shortage of 55 percent as new plumbers aren’t joining the workforce at the same rate as old plumbers retire, costing the U.S. economy around $33 billion each year (source).
The plumber shortage is expected to reach 550,000 by 2027 (source).
Learn more about plumber workforce trends in 2026.
Plumbing Service Market Drivers
Data shows that there’s an increase in demand for innovative plumbing technology and sustainability practices. This creates an opportunity that many plumbing businesses are already capitalizing on.
Here’s a rundown of some data showing the specific plumbing services experiencing high demand:
The residential segment of the smart bathroom market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.9 percent until 2033 (source).
High-efficiency toilets can save households nearly 13,000 gallons of water per year (source).
The smart toilet market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8 percent to reach $11.04 billion by 2034 (source).
Household leaks from pipes and faucets account for almost 10,000 gallons of wasted water per year (source).
Market size for smart building water efficiency and leak detection solutions is expected to develop at a CAGR of 8.8 percent from 2026 to 2035 (source).
Greywater recycling systems can save 25 percent to 45 percent of water through in-house recycling of used water (source).
Tankless water heaters (also known as demand-type or instantaneous water heaters) can be between 24 and 34 percent more energy-efficient than traditional storage heaters, depending on the amount of hot water the homeowner uses (source).
Continued estate development in urban areas, coupled with growing demand for smart and sustainable residential spaces, is increasing the need for plumbing services, especially installations, maintenance, and emergency repairs (source).
Marketing Statistics for Plumbers
Marketing strategies need to change as customer behavior changes. Today, customers often have shorter attention spans and expect more personalized recommendations. As a result, marketing tactics that worked well a few years ago may now be less effective or no longer work at all.
Here are some statistics proving which marketing strategies are effective in 2026.
50 percent of Google users click on a result within nine seconds of searching (source).
42 percent of local queries result in Google Maps Pack clicks (source).
The top result in Google’s organic search results has an average click-through rate (CTR) of 27.6 percent, 10 times better than the CTR for the 10th result (source).
Google owns around 82 percent of the search engine market share (source).
97 percent of consumers read reviews for local businesses (source).
47 percent of consumers won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews; 74 percent care only about reviews written in the last three months, and 31 percent will use only a business with a 4.5+ star rating (source).
63 percent of respondents to a survey from ClickSluice said they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (source).
55 percent of consumers find small businesses on social media (source).
Contractors who are active on social media record 30–45 percent more inbound service calls and earn 22 percent more per job on average. This is largely because most of these customers already consume their content and are ready to buy (source).
64 percent of homeowners check social media before contacting a plumbing contractor, looking at reviews, project photos, and before-and-after videos (source).
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Customer Expectations and Behavior
Customers are increasingly choosing businesses based on personalized experiences, innovative services, and genuine feedback from previous clients. As these expectations grow, businesses need to adapt their pricing, service recommendations, and customer interactions. And as the data below shows, this trend is likely to continue:
67 percent of customers will go to the trouble of writing a positive review, while 40 percent will write a negative one if they feel it’s warranted. Your takeaway line from this is that if you strike a good or bad chord with a customer, the world will likely soon know about it (source).
Homeowners prefer contractors who offer flexible payment options, especially for high-end upgrades and projects (source).
Personalization can reduce marketing costs by an average of 50 percent (source).
Companies that offer personalized experiences generate 40 percent more revenue than their competitors (source).
71 percent of consumers expect businesses to offer personalized experiences (source).
80 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that personalize the experience (source).
66 percent of customers expect their wants and needs to be understood by the brands they interact with (source).
Smart bathroom services in North America account for 48.5 percent of the global plumbing market because of the growing need to curb water usage and the desire for smart technology in the household (source).
Trends Shaping the Future of the Plumbing Industry
One of the biggest trends defining the plumbing industry in 2026 is the continued adoption of new technologies, such as smart shower heads, toilets, and tankless water heaters. The demand for these technologies is steadily growing alongside a focus on water conservation:
Smart showerheads let users control their shower remotely and save their preferred settings. This reduces water consumption and helps conserve valuable water resources.
Smart toilets allow hygienic, hands-free operation and offer customization options for different household members.
Tankless water heaters save energy by heating water on demand, saving homeowners money and reducing the carbon footprint.
Heat pump water heaters are gaining ground as an energy-efficient home upgrade.
Home services customers expect technology-driven services, including online scheduling, text-based mobile-first communication, personalization, and multiple convenient payment options.
For more information, check out our article on the Top 12 Plumbing Industry Trends.
ServiceTitan: Transforming the Plumbing Industry with Technology
Knowing which trends are shaping the plumbing industry is only the first step. The next is putting them into practice.
However, that’s much harder for plumbing businesses that still rely on manual processes like clipboards, paper work orders, handwritten notes, and physical documents. These systems can slow your team down, make information harder to access, and limit the impact of any new technology or strategy you introduce.
For example, you might want to offer customers more personalized service recommendations based on their previous jobs.
But if you bury customer history in filing cabinets or scatter it across paper records, technicians may not have that information when they need it. Instead of making a relevant recommendation on the spot, they have to rely on memory or spend time searching for old records.
The same problem applies to scheduling, dispatching, estimates, invoicing, and follow-ups.
That’s where ServiceTitan comes in. ServiceTitan helps plumbing companies modernize their operations so they can adapt more easily as the industry and customer expectations change.
As an all-in-one home services software platform, ServiceTitan gives plumbing contractors the tools to streamline day-to-day operations, improve efficiency, and deliver a better customer experience, all from one system. Here are some of the top ways ServiceTitan helps businesses achieve that:
Streamlined workforce management
ServiceTitan’s Scheduling Pro lets users offer their customers 24/7 online appointment booking. With a simple widget on your website, customers can book an appointment.
The tool’s advanced configurations ensure customers see accurate availability windows with built-in buffers, so you don’t get double-booked. You can also customize booking questions and workflows to collect the information your team needs before you schedule the job.
Because Scheduling Pro integrates with ServiceTitan’s dispatch board, each new booking automatically appears in the system. Your team can then review the job and follow up with the customer if they need additional details.
This makes booking easier for customers, especially when they need help outside normal business hours. Instead of waiting on hold or calling back the next morning, they can request service when it is convenient for them. For your plumbing business, that means more opportunities to capture jobs and serve more customers without extra admin overhead.
Once a job is booked, Dispatch Pro helps determine the best-suited technician.
The AI-powered tool evaluates all techs using factors such as technician skills, job requirements, location, and sales potential. It then suggests the best technician for the job, reducing unnecessary travel and delays.
Automating these job assignments frees up time for your dispatchers to focus on the important tasks that need a human touch, such as communicating directly with customers. They can also handle more teams and trucks without losing track of important details.
Optimized reporting and analytics
ServiceTitan’s Field Reporting Software lets users generate in-depth reports and gather actionable insights into key metrics such as job completion rate, revenue per technician, and customer satisfaction.
With the Technician Scorecard and CSR Scorecard, you track employees’ performance across metrics such as revenue generated, customer satisfaction, and average job completion.
This helps you identify areas for praise or improvement, as well as weaknesses that require extra training.
As for office staff, the CSR Scorecard lets you listen back to call recordings. Supervisors and managers can use calls to train new hires and show CSRs what a strong customer conversation looks like, so they don’t rely solely on intuition. This gives the team clear examples to follow and helps create a more consistent customer experience.
Enhanced marketing efforts
With Marketing Pro, you can use customer data to create detailed audience segments and send your customers relevant, personalized communications through email and direct mail.
You can quickly create eye-catching, professional-looking campaigns thanks to ServiceTitan’s pre-made, customizable templates.
To enable granular performance tracking, ServiceTitan lets you add trackable phone numbers to your marketing campaigns. So, instead of simply reporting on impressions, the software shows the revenue generated and the zip codes converting the most. This lets you accurately track the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of every campaign, so you channel more of your budget to the top performers.
Improved customer experience
ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience Software allows plumbing businesses to meet and exceed customers’ expectations at every step of the customer lifecycle.
Customers can speak to your front office through two-way texting to confirm or reschedule appointments and ask questions via SMS.
Customers can also track their assigned technicians' arrival times so they know exactly when to expect them. This gives them greater peace of mind and reduces the need to check the window every few minutes.
The ServiceTitan CRM lets users access customer data like job history, spoken languages, communication preferences, and more, so you can provide a truly personalized and professional service.
Once you complete a job, your customer will receive an automated review request link. This can help your business gather more reviews, an essential part of customer research. ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management feature aggregates all reviews in one dashboard, so you can quickly and easily respond to them.
Seamless third-party integrations
ServiceTitan integrates with top software like QuickBooks, Angi, Building36, Google Local Services Ads, Greensky, JB Warranties, and many more. Integrating your tools with ServiceTitan lets you manage all aspects of your business operations seamlessly, without manual data entry.
Check out the ServiceTitan Marketplace to see all the third-party integrations in the ecosystem.
How ServiceTitan helps Power Pro Plumbing
Power Pro Plumbing Heating & Air is a local business in Long Beach, California. Their founder, Raul Rodriguez, said ServiceTitan’s comprehensive information helps facilitate his service-based philosophy.
“Being able to connect with the customer [...] becomes easy to do through ServiceTitan. When you go to a job and look at the history, everything is there. It’s so easy to show and explain to the customer.”
Specifically, he says they use the software to:
Review a customer’s full job history before or during a visit so technicians have the context they need.
Show customers photos of past and current work, making it easier to explain what was done and what still needs attention.
Clearly explain recommended repairs or services instead of expecting customers to rely on a verbal description alone.
Create a more consistent service process across the company so customers know what to expect regardless of which technician serves them.
For Rodriguez, having all of this information in one place makes it easier for his team to communicate with customers, build trust, and deliver the service-focused experience Power Pro aims to provide.
Over to You!
As the plumbing industry evolves, staying ahead of new technologies, trends, and customer behaviors is important. Doing so can give your plumbing business a competitive edge and foster business growth.
ServiceTitan helps plumbing businesses grow with a comprehensive suite of scalable tools, robust reporting, and actionable data.
Book a ServiceTitan demo today to see how it can help your plumbing business.
ServiceTitan is an all-in-one home services software solution that gives plumbing businesses the tools they need to grow and manage operations. More than 100,000 contractors across the country trust it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are the answers to some common questions about the plumbing industry.
Q1. Is plumbing a growing industry?
Some aspects are growing, while others are declining. As we noted above, some areas, such as smart fixtures, are growing. But while demand for some basic services is declining, the plumbing industry’s overall revenue has been increasing at a CAGR of 4.9% over the past five years.
Q2. Is plumbing in demand?
Yes. With advancements in smart home technology, the need for more sustainable plumbing systems, new construction, and retrofitting old buildings with new plumbing, plumbers are in high demand.
Q3. How severe is the plumbing labor shortage?
An economic-impact study projects the U.S. will be short approximately 550,000 plumbers by 2027. Retirement is a core driver of the gap. The Washington Examiner reports that for every five plumbers leaving the force, only two apprentices are entering to replace them.
Q4. How much do homeowners pay for plumbing services?
Homeowners pay an average of $90 per hour for standard residential plumbing work, with rates ranging roughly $182 to $501 depending on region, licensure, and job complexity. Other plumbing services, like drain cleaning, leak repair, and fixture repair, range from $95 to $500. Emergency or after-hours calls typically cost from $120 to $500 per hour.
Q5. How many people are employed in the plumbing industry?
The American plumbing industry employs around 566k people, according to DataUSA.
Q6. What are the most in-demand plumbing services?
Some of the most in-demand plumbing services include:
Smart water leak detectors and brain pipes
Greywater systems
Smart plumbing fixtures
ServiceTitan Plumbing Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive plumbing business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
