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Plumber shortage in Michigan: the licensed-supply numbers
What the Michigan register actually shows, by tier and per capita, updated nightly.
As of 2026-08-09, Michigan carries 17,967 licensed plumbers
on its state register, or 179.0 per 100,000 residents.
17,967
licensed plumbers
179.0
per 100k residents
#18
density rank of 42
1.25
apprentice : journeyman
The apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline behind them runs at 1.25 in Michigan, against 0.492 nationally, a read on whether the plumbers supply is being replenished.
By credential tier
Every plumber license on the Michigan register, normalized to one ladder.
Tier
Licensed
Share
Apprentice
5,918
33%
Journeyman
4,737
26%
Master
3,514
20%
Contractor / business
3,798
21%
Against comparable states
States nearest Michigan on licensed plumbers per capita.
State
Licensed plumbers
Per 100k
Michigan
17,967
179.0
Connecticut
7,110
196.6
Indiana
12,526
182.5
Louisiana
8,305
181.6
Rhode Island
1,901
173.5
Wisconsin
10,198
172.5
Oklahoma
6,985
172.3
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 Michigan?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. Michigan carries 17,967 licensed plumbers on its register as of 2026-08-09, or 179.0 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed plumbers does Michigan have?
17,967 on the state register as of 2026-08-09, including 3,514 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.