Best Schools for Plumbing in 2026

19 schools ranked by TSW Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Plumbing, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Plumbing graduate earns $42,601/yr across 19 schools.

Programs Ranked
19
Avg Earnings
$42,601/yr
Avg TSW Score
58/100
AI-Proof Rating
AI-Proof
18% task exposure

All Plumbing Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School TSW Score Earnings ROI
1 City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College
Chicago, IL · Plumbing
82
80–82
$82,055/yr 186.3x
2 Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN · Plumbing
77
76–78
$82,191/yr 90.7x
3 Fox Valley Technical College
Appleton, WI · Plumbing
81
80–82
$79,589/yr 160.9x
4 St Cloud Technical and Community College
Saint Cloud, MN · Plumbing
71
70–71
$44,240/yr 88.2x
5 Emily Griffith Technical College
Denver, CO · Plumbing
63
62–64
$63,386/yr
6 Hennepin Technical College
Brooklyn Park, MN · Plumbing
66
65–66
$40,030/yr 67.1x
7 Industrial Management Training Institute
Waterbury, CT · Plumbing
58
56–58
$42,300/yr
8 Ranken Technical College
Saint Louis, MO · Plumbing
57
56–57
$43,556/yr 24.6x
9 Sheridan Technical College
Hollywood, FL · Plumbing
54
52–54
$35,066/yr
10 Orleans Technical College
Philadelphia, PA · Plumbing
54
52–55
$35,730/yr
11 South Florida Institute of Technology
Miami, FL · Plumbing
54
52–54
$35,252/yr
12 Pennco Tech-Bristol
Bristol, PA · Plumbing
52
50–52
$31,668/yr
13 Adult and Continuing Education-BCTS
Hackensack, NJ · Plumbing
50
49–51
$30,184/yr
14 Apex Technical School
Long Island City, NY · Plumbing
50
48–50
$29,497/yr
15 New England Institute of Technology
East Greenwich, RI · Plumbing
50
48–51
$40,744/yr 7.2x
16 Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton
Elizabethton, TN · Plumbing
48
46–49
$27,133/yr
17 Hohokus School of Trade and Technical Sciences
Paterson, NJ · Plumbing
46
45–47
$24,973/yr
18 Berk Trade and Business School
Long Island City, NY · Plumbing
45
43–45
$22,660/yr
19 NUC University
Bayamon, PR · Plumbing
41
41–42
$19,156/yr 22.8x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (projected earnings vs. program tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Plumbing?
Based on our TradeSchoolOutlook Score, City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College ranks #1 for Plumbing with a score of 82/100 and graduate earnings of $82,055/yr.
How much do Plumbing graduates earn?
Across 19 schools, Plumbing graduates earn an average of $42,601/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $82,191/yr.
Is Plumbing an AI-proof career?
Plumbing has an average AI task exposure of 18%, rated "AI-Proof". This is a highly AI-proof trade — hands-on work that AI cannot automate.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.