Two Studies: Plumbing Manufacturing and Plumbing Industries Worth $442 Billion to U.S. Economy, Yet 550,000-Worker Shortage Looms

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 18, 2026--

A pair of studies reveal the economic impact of plumbers and plumbing manufacturers while projecting a shortfall of about 550,000 plumbers by 2027.

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Plumbing Manufacturers International’s “ Plumbing Manufacturing Industry Economic Impact Study ” reveals the combined, total economic impact of plumbers and plumbing manufacturers to be more than $442 billion annually, with almost 1.8 million jobs, and over $142 billion in wages. Together, both industries generated almost $60 billion in tax revenue. For plumbing manufacturers alone, the total economic impact is $129 billion, 500,487 jobs, and $37 billion in wages. For plumbers, the total economic impact is $313.5 billion, 1,283,579 jobs, and $105.1 billion in wages. These data can be sorted by state and by congressional, state house, or state senate district.

The second study commissioned by PMI member LIXIL, “ Blocked Pipes: The Economic Consequences of Skilled Worker Shortages,” reveals a projected shortfall of about 550,000 unfilled plumbing positions by 2027. This skilled labor deficit causes construction delays for builders and drives up costs for property owners, constraining economic output. The study found that the addition of only 16,400 plumbers would reduce plumbing costs by nearly $1.27 billion annually and save an additional $144.5 million on maintenance of plumbing infrastructure.

Both studies were conducted by economic research firm John Dunham & Associates, with the LIXIL study in collaboration with economist Michael Flaherty.

“These economic impact data illustrate the vital symbiotic relationship between plumbing manufacturers and plumbers,” noted PMI CEO/Executive Director Kerry Stackpole. “Our combined industries generate good-paying jobs, opportunities to learn in-demand technical skills, and a tax base that funds schools, infrastructure, and other public services.”

LIXIL study finds plumbing services essential to most U.S. industry sectors

The LIXIL study revealed that the true impact of plumbing extends far beyond construction jobsites. Plumbing services are essential to 519 of the 544 U.S. industry sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace, and automotive industries. As skilled labor supply tightens, service costs rise and the risks of inefficiencies, quality issues, and missed deadlines increase—jeopardizing major projects, slowing innovation, and constraining economic output.

The study also found that about 90% of plumbing-related spending is directed toward new construction, drawing limited labor resources away from routine maintenance. This imbalance heightens the risk of system failures nationwide, threatening not only economic activity but also the resilience of critical infrastructure. Addressing the labor gap is a critical requirement to maintain safe, clean water infrastructure and to manage repair expenses for the broader housing market.

Addressing the gap: career pathways and second-career appeal

“Skilled trades are not just for young people entering the workforce—they can also be an exciting and viable second career,” remarked Troy Benavidez, leader of strategic partnerships, government relations and policy at LIXIL and a PMI Board of Directors member. “The study’s findings underscore the significant economic opportunity and long-term stability the plumbing trades offer, serving as pathways to innovation, business ownership, and economic mobility.”

Stackpole added that an expanded plumbing workforce supports faster housing delivery, more efficient water use, and safer buildings. “It creates upwardly mobile career paths that don’t involve excessive student debt. It strengthens domestic manufacturing by ensuring that innovative, high-performing products can be properly installed and maintained. And most importantly, it reinforces the systems that Americans rely on every day for safe, clean water,” he said.

Revitalized education and further collaboration required

Filling the plumbing workforce gap will require revitalized vocational education programs, increased apprenticeships, and further collaboration between the plumbing industry, policymakers and educators.

PMI recently supported legislation that allows Americans to use 529 education savings accounts to pay for costs related to learning the plumbing trade, taking certification exams, and maintaining certification credentials, allowing lifelong students to upskill and reskill throughout their careers. PMI also supports legislation and grant funding to increase student participation in work-based learning opportunities.

“At LIXIL, we’re taking action through our TradeUp and GIVE programs, working with educators, customers, and local communities to provide students with the training, tools, and inspiration needed to succeed in the trades,” Benavidez said. “We also partner with global organizations like WorldSkills and national groups such as Tools & Tiaras, while collaborating with state and local governments to support and advocate for policies that elevate the value of skilled trade careers. By valuing and investing in the trades today, the U.S. can secure the plumbing workforce it needs to build, maintain, and innovate for the future.”

About Plumbing Manufacturers International

Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) is the trade association of plumbing product manufacturers that produce more than 90% of the United States’ plumbing products, represent more than 150 iconic brands, and develop safe, reliable and innovative water-efficient plumbing technologies. PMI members contribute 500,487 jobs and $129 billion in economic impact to America's economy, according to the Plumbing Manufacturing Industry Economic Impact Study.

With a vision of safe, responsible plumbing – always, PMI advocates for plumbing product performance contributing to water efficiency and savings, sustainability, public health and safety, and consumer satisfaction through its Rethink Water initiative and other programs. PMI members manufacture water-efficient toilets, urinals, faucets, showerheads and other products at more than 70 locations across the country and market them online and in more than 26,000 home improvement stores, hardware stores and showrooms in all 50 states. For more information on PMI, contact the organization at 1750 Tysons Blvd., Ste. 1500, McLean, Va., 22102; tel.: 847-481-5500; fax: 847-481-5501. safeplumbing.org.

About LIXIL

LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we create world-leading technology and innovate to make high quality products that transform homes. But the LIXIL difference is how we do this; through meaningful design, an entrepreneurial spirit, a dedication to improving accessibility for all, and responsible business growth. Our approach comes to life through industry leading brands, including American Standard, GROHE, DXV, INAX, and Basco. Approximately 53,000 colleagues operating in more than 150 countries are proud to make products that touch the lives of more than a billion people every day.

Learn more at lixil.com and LinkedIn.

Learn more about the LIXIL Water experience center at lixilwaterxnyc.com, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Plumbers Total Impact

Plumbing Manufacturers International’s “Plumbing Manufacturing Industry Economic Impact Study” reveals the combined, total economic impact of plumbers and plumbing manufacturers to be more than $442 billion annually, with almost 1.8 million jobs, and over $142 billion in wages. A second study commissioned by PMI member LIXIL, “Blocked Pipes: The Economic Consequences of Skilled Worker Shortages,” reveals a projected shortfall of about 550,000 unfilled plumbing positions by 2027.

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.

Friday's milestone anniversary will bring memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims' names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll.

For others it's an occasion for private reflection — or, in many schools, education — about the attack that unfolded in a single morning but left nearly 3,000 dead and a decades-long trail of aftermath, from personal grief to far-flung wars.

Police Officer Casey Kloepfer plans to spend time Friday at the Brooklyn station house where his father, Officer Ronald Kloepfer, reported to work that day before being called to the World Trade Center. He didn't make it home.

Casey Kloepfer was only 4, but he grew up hearing about his father's affinity for helping people and for a job that enabled him to do so. He became an officer this past June.

“It’s big footsteps to fill, but it’s definitely something that I take very seriously and want to continue to honor him and be the best police officer I can,” he said by phone this week. The 29-year-old wears his father’s badge number and even has joined the New York Police Department lacrosse team, which his dad founded.

On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The impacts brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers — icons of U.S. economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth — and blew a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military's fortresslike headquarters near Washington. The fourth plane also was headed for the nation's capital, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.

“In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into, really, what came before” and after, President Donald Trump said at a 9/11 remembrance in Washington this week. The Republican, who was in his native New York on Sept. 11 and has often recounted his memories, plans to attend the Pentagon's anniversary ceremony Friday.

Vice President JD Vance is expected at the observance at the National Sept. 11 Memorial in New York, while other administration officials are headed to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.

Planned remembrances extend far beyond the attack sites, from beams of light projecting from New Hampshire's Mount Washington to a stair climb at Mississippi State University's football stadium to a ceremony at Honolulu's 9/11 memorial.

Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the New York commemoration, where relatives read all the victims' names, punctuated with moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline. For the first time, this year's ceremony will add a silent moment to honor people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many people developed health problems linked to the dust.

It's a reminder of how the attacks' long shadow has reached into many corners of life in the U.S. and beyond.

The U.S.-led global war on terrorism included invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — the latter Washington's longest war — and detentions and harsh interrogation of terror suspects in an international network of secret CIA prisons. The U.S. military found and killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, but accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still awaits a trial 23 years after his capture.

The attacks changed U.S. air travel, prompted new federal surveillance and intelligence-gathering powers and banking regulations, and generated ongoing debate over the balance between security and freedom. The Department of Homeland Security, many state anti-terrorism laws and billions of dollars in state and local counterterrorism funding all are post-9/11 creations.

So, too, is the culture of individual vigilance summed up by the slogan “ if you see something, say something.”

Sept. 11 generated a wave of patriotism that propelled some Americans to join the military, fire departments, police forces or other public agencies. But amid the national unity that many remember, the attacks also fanned mistrust, prejudice and hate crimes directed at Muslims.

In the quarter-century since, Muslim Americans have played a growing role in public life from statehouses to Congress to New York City Hall, where Zohran Mamdani is the city's first Muslim mayor. Yet he is facing some criticism for planning to attend the anniversary ceremony at ground zero, something his predecessors have done for years.

Some complaints came from Republican ex-Gov. George Pataki and 9/11 victims’ relatives, who cited among other things past remarks that some of Mamdani's political associates have made about the attacks. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, also inveighed against Mamdani attending.

Mamdani, a Democrat, responded this week that he loves the city and country and wants the anniversary to focus on victims' families, first responders and New Yorkers who helped one another after the attacks, which he called a “horrific act of terror.” The 34-year-old mayor was an elementary school student in New York on 9/11.

Sept. 11 isn't a federal holiday, but Congress has designated it both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“One appropriate way to remember is by serving,” says Jay Winuk, who lost his brother Glenn Winuk and then co-founded the volunteer organization 9/11 Day with friend David Paine. The group helps people find meal-packing and other volunteer opportunities and this year arranged for dozens of Times Square billboards to pause their advertising at 9:11 a.m. Friday.

Instead, they will simply display the time.

Phillip Flood, 48, watches as the Tribute in Light is tested over the skyline of lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Jersey City, NJ. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, center, speaks to FDNY commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, right, during a memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Members of the FDNY march with flags during a memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

An American flag flies, with the lower Manhattan skyline in background, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Jersey City, NJ. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)