Pipefitter apprenticeships in St. Louis, MO-IL
St. Louis, MO-IL is the 20th-most populous metro in the US. Here is what working as a pipefitter looks like locally.
KEY FACTS — ST. LOUIS, MO-IL
St. Louis: ~815 of 4.2K (~20%) · market pressure 38/100 — Low pressure.
Confidence: medium. Annual labor earnings (W-2 wages + self-employment), not OEWS hourly-wage extrapolations.
Source: Census ACS 2024 5-year PUMS (state-rate projection onto metro OEWS employment).
Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance.
Source: BLS OEWS.
Confidence: low. Composite of projected annual openings, projected growth, and current $100K+ earnings rate. Not a direct vacancy count.
Source: Projections Central data; score computed by Prentice.
Source: Census ACS 2022 5-year.
A framing, not a forecast. See methodology.
Numerator: ACS PUMS $100K+ annual earners.
St. Louis, MO-IL is one of Missouri's largest labor markets for pipefitters. It is the 20th-largest metro area in the United States by population. This page collects what adults switching into a career as a pipefitter inside the St. Louis metro need first: how local pay compares to the state, what the available labor-market data says about six-figure work, and which statewide programs and licensing rules apply locally.
St. Louis, MO-IL pipefitters earn a median of $73,060 (BLS OEWS St. Louis MSA, May 2024). For Missouri context, statewide pay runs from $18/hr at entry to $30/hr at the state median and $46/hr at the experienced end. Statewide headline: $62K avg salary. The St. Louis metro is a top-50 U.S. MSA; local wages may run above or below the state median depending on sector mix.
In the St. Louis metro, estimated six-figure pipefitter jobs: ~855 of 4.2K (~21%). Confidence: high. Log-normal fit residual is within tolerance. ACS 2024 5-year PUMS estimates ~815 $100K+ annual earners (~20% of employed pipefitters, ACS PUMS WAGP+SEMP). Projections Central long-term pressure score: 38/100 (Low, low confidence). Bachelor's-plus in the metro labor force: 719K (ACS 2022 5-year). For statewide context: Missouri shows ~1.1K of 7.9K (~14%). Sources: BLS OEWS, Census ACS PUMS, Projections Central, Census ACS.
Statewide pipefitter programs and employer-sponsored paths are listed on the Missouri programs page; none are flagged as metro-exclusive. Metro program and association references are inherited from sourced state pages unless a metro-exclusive entity is explicitly sourced. Treat them as orientation, not a complete local inventory, and verify current intake details with the statewide source or sponsor before relying. Licensing is set at the state level: Missouri rules apply in the St. Louis metro unless a local authority says otherwise. Metro pages use state-level licensing and program context unless a city, county, or sponsor rule is explicitly sourced. Verify current licensing, local add-ons, and sponsor requirements with the official state or local authority before relying. pipefitter apprenticeship sites cluster within a 45-60 minute drive of the St. Louis core; smaller employers may sponsor at the regional level when no in-metro slot is open.
Union apprenticeship programs in St. Louis, MO-IL
Verified pipefitter union locals with public-facing city, jurisdiction, training, and official-site details.
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 25
Jurisdiction:Jackson, Clinton, Cedar, Scott, Muscatine counties (IA/IL)
Training:Plumbers and Pipefitters JATC of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (Rock Island, IL)
Official site →UA Local 101 Plumbers & Pipefitters
Jurisdiction:Belleville/Metro East Illinois local with Scott Air Force Base referenced in Illinois legislative materials; exact county jurisdiction was not live-confirmed in this run.
Training:Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 101 JATC (Belleville, IL)
Official site →UA Local 136 Plumbers & Steamfitters
Jurisdiction:Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry + 13 more counties (IN/IL)
Training:UA Local 136 Training Center (Evansville, IN)
Official site →UA Local 137 Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVACR
Jurisdiction:Sangamon, Logan, Menard, Christian, Pike + 11 more counties (IL)
Training:Springfield Union Hall and Training Center (Springfield, IL)
Official site →UA Local 157 Plumbers and Steamfitters
Jurisdiction:Benton, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Fountain + 11 more counties (IN/IL)
Training:Local 157 Training Center (Terre Haute, IN)
Official site →UA Local 360 Plumbers & Gasfitters
Jurisdiction:Collinsville/East St. Louis-area plumbers and gasfitters local; exact county jurisdiction was not live-confirmed in this run.
Official site →UA Local 439 Steamfitters
Jurisdiction:East St. Louis/Caseyville-area steamfitters local; exact county jurisdiction was not live-confirmed in this run.
UA Local 553 Plumbers and Pipefitters
Jurisdiction:Local 553 is located in East Alton and has jurisdiction of a seven-county area in southern Illinois; the county names were not available as text in this run.
Training:Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 553 Training Program (East Alton, IL)
Official site →Verified-source check recorded in the union dataset; this data snapshot does not carry per-local verification dates.
Street addresses, phone numbers, and emails stay out of the page source. Open the free directory for addresses & phone numbers .
PIPEFITTER PAY SNAPSHOT — ST. LOUIS, MO-IL
$73,060 (OEWS MSA-level median)
Source: BLS OEWS MSA cross-industry estimates. Where MSA-level data is suppressed or unpublished we fall back to the state median and label it explicitly.
Programs across Missouri
We list pipefitter apprenticeships, schools, and locals statewide.
PIPEFITTER IN NEARBY METROS
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READ THE SWITCH BRIEF
Step back from the encyclopedia view and look at the adult trade-switch decision page first.
GET THE PIPEFITTER GUIDE — $9
Use the national decision guide for earnings, lifestyle, and union vs. non-union fit. It is not a St. Louis, MO-IL or Missouri-specific paid guide.