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Plumber shortage in California: the licensed-supply numbers
What the California register actually shows, by tier and per capita, updated nightly.
As of 2026-08-09, California carries 14,076 licensed plumbers
on its state register, or 36.1 per 100,000 residents.
14,076
licensed plumbers
36.1
per 100k residents
#35
density rank of 42
Against comparable states
States nearest California on licensed plumbers per capita.
State
Licensed plumbers
Per 100k
California
14,076
36.1
Nebraska
1,087
54.9
Arizona
3,443
46.3
Florida
8,973
39.7
Washington
2,726
34.9
Nevada
970
30.4
Ohio
2,751
23.3
Counts, not a capacity opinion. We publish the licensed supply and the pipeline
ratio; whether a market can absorb a given project is a judgement for the reader, not a claim we make.
Frequently asked
Is there a plumbers shortage in California?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. California carries 14,076 licensed plumbers on its register as of 2026-08-09, or 36.1 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed plumbers does California have?
14,076 on the state register as of 2026-08-09.
Where does the shortage narrative come from?
Industry analyses project national shortfalls of hundreds of thousands of skilled-trades workers against data-center and electrification demand. Those are demand-side estimates; the figure here is the licensed supply on the register today.
New licenses, ladder upgrades, classification changes and lapses, by market and credential tier. Read the quarterly free, or license the underlying data.