American Trades Index Apply for the beta

Plumber shortage in Maine: the licensed-supply numbers

Everyone quotes the shortage. Here is the count Maine actually has, by skill level and per resident, updated every night.

Apply for the beta

As of October 6, 2026, Maine carries 15,942 licensed plumbers on its state register, or 1,142.2 per 100,000 residents.

15,942
licensed plumbers
1,142.2
per 100k residents
#1
density rank of 32
0.38
apprentice : journeyman

The apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline behind them runs at 0.38 in Maine, against 0.555 nationally, a read on whether the plumbers supply is being replenished.

What level they hold

Every plumber license on the Maine register, normalized to one ladder.

TierLicensedShare
Apprentice3,07719%
Journeyman8,20051%
Master4,66529%

How this compares to nearby states

States nearest Maine on licensed plumbers per capita.

StateLicensed plumbersPer 100k
Maine15,9421142.2
Vermont4,178645.3
Idaho11,610590.9
North Dakota2,893369.0
Counts, not a capacity opinion. We publish the licensed supply and the pipeline ratio; whether a market can absorb a given project is a judgment for the reader, not a claim we make.

What are plumbers worth in your market?

A free report on your market: what the trade pays, how that compares with nearby counties, and where your credential sits against the local licensed workforce. No account needed.

Thanks, we'll be in touch.
Something went wrong. Please try again.

Common questions

Is there a plumbers shortage in Maine?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. Maine carries 15,942 licensed plumbers on its register as of October 6, 2026, or 1,142.2 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed plumbers does Maine have?
15,942 on the state register as of October 6, 2026, including 4,665 at master level.
Where does the shortage narrative come from?
Industry analyses project national shortfalls of hundreds of thousands of skilled-trades workers against data-center and electrification demand. Those are demand-side estimates; the figure here is the licensed supply on the register today.

Related pages

Count
How many plumbers in MaineMarket
Maine licensed trades supplyCorridor
Electricians and the data-center buildout
This number changes tonight.

This page is a free snapshot of Maine. Track the same market every night and see which contractors just got licensed, added a trade, or dropped off, and pull the full record, with contact details where available, on any of them. Get the weekly intelligence email on the markets you follow. ATI is in private beta; apply for access.

Apply for the betaGet the Index

Get new opportunities in your inbox.

The biggest project moves, contractor signals and market opportunities we find.

You are on the list. The next finding lands in your inbox.

Free. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your address. See our Privacy Policy.