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Plumber shortage in Maine: the licensed-supply numbers
What the Maine register actually shows, by tier and per capita, updated nightly.
As of 2026-08-09, Maine carries 16,869 licensed plumbers
on its state register, or 1208.6 per 100,000 residents.
16,869
licensed plumbers
1208.6
per 100k residents
#1
density rank of 42
0.36
apprentice : journeyman
The apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline behind them runs at 0.36 in Maine, against 0.492 nationally, a read on whether the plumbers supply is being replenished.
By credential tier
Every plumber license on the Maine register, normalized to one ladder.
Tier
Licensed
Share
Apprentice
3,197
19%
Journeyman
8,853
52%
Master
4,819
29%
Against comparable states
States nearest Maine on licensed plumbers per capita.
State
Licensed plumbers
Per 100k
Maine
16,869
1208.6
Vermont
4,154
641.6
Idaho
11,107
565.3
Iowa
18,092
564.1
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 Maine?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. Maine carries 16,869 licensed plumbers on its register as of 2026-08-09, or 1208.6 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed plumbers does Maine have?
16,869 on the state register as of 2026-08-09, including 4,819 at master level.
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.