The pay box above shows what plumber roles with posted pay on our board offer right now. This page adds the Ontario context around those numbers.
Where these numbers come from
Two places, and we own both. The pay box at the top of this page reads live job ads on our board right now. The Tradesppl Hiring Index is our monthly count of every job posted on the board.
We never guess a wage. If a number is on this page, an employer put it in a job ad. Here is how we work the numbers out.
What August looked like
In our August 2026 Hiring Index, plumbers logged 189 new postings continent-wide. Ontario was the third busiest place in North America, with 178 trades jobs posted. But only 10.1% of Ontario ads named a wage.
That is despite the province's new pay-posting law, which started in January 2026. It covers shops with 25 or more staff and caps the range at $50,000 wide. For comparison, US plumbing jobs that named a wage paid $78,000 USD a year in the middle, out of 74 ads. We track the law's effect monthly in the pay transparency report.
Why Canadian pay is harder to pin down
Here is something most salary pages won't tell you. In our August 2026 Hiring Index, only 8.6% of Canadian trades job ads named a wage. In the US it was 42.1%.
Most provinces don't make employers put pay in the ad. Ontario's rule only started in January 2026, and only for shops with 25 or more staff. We track it in our pay transparency report.
That is why the pay box above sometimes pulls from listings right across Canada instead of one province. We would rather show you a small real number than a big made-up one. As more employers post wages, these figures sharpen on their own.
How the ticket works
Plumbing (the 306A ticket) is a compulsory trade in Ontario:
- Apprentice, about 5 years. You earn a share of the journeyperson rate, rising as you go, with school blocks along the way.
- 306A journeyperson: full rate — the level the live box above mostly reflects.
- Red Seal: interprovincial portability, and a credential that shows up by name in plumber postings on our board.
Service plumbing, new construction and ICI mechanical all pay differently. Service work with on-call rotation often adds premiums the base rate never shows.
What employers ask for
Plumbing ads named the Red Seal more than any other ticket, along with site-safety ones like fall protection. Of the plumbing ads that named a level, about 1 in 6 was open to an apprentice — see who is hiring apprentices.
Work out your own number
- Pay calculator — put in your hourly rate and see your take-home, overtime included
- Plumber jobs in Ontario — what's open right now
- Hiring Index — this month's jobs, pay and hiring hot spots across every trade