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Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters pay in Appleton, WI and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters is $37,990 per year in Appleton, WI. It is $65,600 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. Appleton, WI is 42.1% below Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-3015 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 30 wage and salary jobs in Appleton, WI and 280 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings