Licensed supply, credential mix, wages and demand for plumbers in Pottawattamie County, IA, from the state register (updated nightly) and BLS.
Pottawattamie County, IA carries 141 licensed plumbers and a median wage of $63,400/yr ($30.48/hr).
A free report on your market: what the trade pays here, where your credential sits against the local licensed workforce, and the nearby counties that pay more, with the difference and the distance. No account needed.
This county sits at the 56th percentile nationally for plumbers pay, above the median US county. Average weekly wages across the county's construction trades fell 10.0% year over year (BLS QCEW).
Counties within 150 miles whose published median for this occupation is higher than Pottawattamie County's. Medians from the same BLS OEWS series shown above, not offers, and pay is only one reason to move.
| County | Median | Difference | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton County, MO | $76,150 | +$12,750 | 134 mi |
| Caldwell County, MO | $76,150 | +$12,750 | 142 mi |
| Platte County, MO | $76,150 | +$12,750 | 142 mi |
| Jackson County, KS | $75,090 | +$11,690 | 134 mi |
| Jefferson County, KS | $75,090 | +$11,690 | 145 mi |
Pottawattamie County holds 24% of the metro area's 578 licensed plumbers (the second-largest plumbers pool among its 8 counties), at 15.1 per 10,000 residents against 5.9 metro-wide; the largest pool is Douglas County with 230.
Employment from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for the industry this trade sits in; payroll from the Census County Business Patterns. Establishment counts are QCEW where the county is disclosed and an ATI estimate otherwise.
| Measure | Value | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Employer establishments | 42 | Physical business locations in this industry. |
| Industry employment | 497 | Everyone on those payrolls, not only licensed trades. |
| Annual industry payroll | $24M | Total wages paid across those establishments (Census CBP, 2023). |
County-wide construction activity, across all trades rather than plumbers specifically. Each figure names its source and the period it covers.
| Measure | Value | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| New housing units permitted | 334 | Last full year, county-wide. 36 per 10,000 residents. Permits lead construction hiring by months, so this is the earliest honest signal of work arriving (Census Building Permits Survey). |
| Construction employment | 1,600 | Everyone working in construction in this county, all trades and office staff. Average pay $1,355 per week. BLS QCEW. |
| Median year homes were built | 1967 | Older stock means more repair, replacement and retrofit work, which is steadier than new build and does not stop in a downturn (Census ACS). |
| Net migration | +182 | People who moved in minus people who moved out, from IRS address changes. Arrivals need housing, wiring, plumbing and heat. |
15.1 licensed plumbers per 10,000 residents; 79 licensed holders per 100 estimated workers in the trade; 3.1 apprentices per 10,000 residents. A thin pipeline against an ageing licensed base is how a shortage forms years before it shows up in wages.
License register: 2026-10-05; Wages: 2025-05-31; Demand: 2026-10-05; Apprenticeship: 2025-12-31.
This page is a free snapshot of plumbers in Pottawattamie County, IA. 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.