Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
State licensing. Pipelayers is licensed or registered in 39 of 57 states and territories, as reported by each state to CareerOneStop. A license often applies only to certain roles within a career, and records were last updated between 2010 and 2024, so confirm requirements with the state licensing board.
Certifications. CareerOneStop directly links 2 professional certifications to Pipelayers. 2 of them are in CareerOneStop's "Advanced" group, for example: STAR Plumber Mastery, STAR Steamfitting-Pipefitting Mastery. Certifications are voluntary credentials offered by the organizations named; listing one is not an endorsement.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Pay by education level. Among full-time, year-round pipelayers ages 25 to 64, median yearly pay is $60,900 with a high school diploma or GED and $71,100 with some college or an associate's degree (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024 dollars). Pay differs for many reasons besides education, such as experience, employer and location.
Industries that employ this career. The largest shares of pipelayers work in Construction (67%), Utilities (13%), Transportation and Warehousing (7%) and Manufacturing (2%) (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024).
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most pipelayers are Utility System Construction (40% of the jobs counted, median pay $48,530), Other Specialty Trade Contractors (18% of the jobs counted, median pay $49,340), Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (18% of the jobs counted, median pay $49,680), Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction (7% of the jobs counted, median pay $48,060) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Building Equipment Contractors ($59,280), Nonresidential Building Construction ($56,540), Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals ($49,680). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
Injury and illness rates. For pipelayers, employers reported 154.7 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 56 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.
Union membership. In the broad group "Construction and extraction", which includes this career, 16.4% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,561 for union members and $1,004 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to pipelayers.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Natural resources, construction, and maintenance", which includes this career, 74% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 79% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 78% had paid sick leave, 86% paid vacation and 89% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to pipelayers, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $48.59 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Natural resources, construction, and maintenance" in June 2026 ($32.96 in wages and salaries and $15.63 in benefits, 32.2% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to pipelayers in the work done and the skills used: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, Construction Laborers, Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners, Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall, Insulation Workers, Mechanical, Sheet Metal Workers, Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Compare pipelayers with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →