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Plumber shortage in Wisconsin: the licensed-supply numbers
What the Wisconsin register actually shows, by tier and per capita, updated nightly.
As of 2026-08-09, Wisconsin carries 10,198 licensed plumbers
on its state register, or 172.5 per 100,000 residents.
10,198
licensed plumbers
172.5
per 100k residents
#20
density rank of 42
0.48
apprentice : journeyman
The apprentice-to-journeyman pipeline behind them runs at 0.48 in Wisconsin, against 0.492 nationally, a read on whether the plumbers supply is being replenished.
By credential tier
Every plumber license on the Wisconsin register, normalized to one ladder.
Tier
Licensed
Share
Apprentice
1,938
19%
Journeyman
4,075
40%
Master
3,503
34%
Inspector
682
7%
Against comparable states
States nearest Wisconsin on licensed plumbers per capita.
State
Licensed plumbers
Per 100k
Wisconsin
10,198
172.5
Louisiana
8,305
181.6
Michigan
17,967
179.0
Rhode Island
1,901
173.5
Oklahoma
6,985
172.3
Montana
1,900
167.7
Utah
5,722
167.4
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 Wisconsin?
Reporting on the shortage rarely states how many are actually licensed. Wisconsin carries 10,198 licensed plumbers on its register as of 2026-08-09, or 172.5 per 100,000 residents. Readers can weigh that supply against demand directly.
How many licensed plumbers does Wisconsin have?
10,198 on the state register as of 2026-08-09, including 3,503 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.