Plumbing Cost Statistics (2026)
Updated June 2026 · By the Mobile Phonebook editorial team · Methodology
Current national pricing for plumbing work, pulled from our continuously reviewed cost index. Every figure below is a 2026 number you can quote directly.
Key statistics
- The typical plumbing service call or dispatch fee runs $50 to $150 in 2026, and many shops credit it toward the repair if you approve the work.
- Hourly plumbing rates range from $75 to $200 per hour depending on the market; most larger residential shops use flat-rate menu pricing instead.
- Clearing a clogged drain at a single fixture costs $130 to $400.
- A main sewer line camera inspection runs $150 to $500, though some companies bundle it free with hydro jetting.
- Hydro jetting a sewer line costs $300 to $1,000, roughly two to three times the price of clearing a single fixture drain.
- A faucet, toilet fill valve, or garbage disposal repair costs $150 to $450, with flat-rate shops landing at the high end.
- Toilet replacement runs $250 to $700 installed, not counting the cost of the toilet itself.
- Replacing a standard tank water heater costs $1,200 to $3,500 installed in 2026, with gas versus electric, code upgrades, and permits driving the spread.
- A tankless water heater conversion runs $2,500 to $6,500 installed, roughly double the cost of a like-for-like tank swap.
- Burst pipe repairs range from $200 to $1,500 or more; access drives the price, so a pipe behind an open wall is cheap while a slab leak is not.
- After-hours, weekend, and holiday plumbing calls typically carry a 1.5x to 2x premium over regular rates.
- Tank water heaters last about 8 to 12 years, and a straightforward like-for-like replacement takes a pro 2 to 4 hours.
- A running toilet usually needs only a $10 to $25 flapper or fill valve, but the same fix runs $150 to $450 when a flat-rate shop handles it.
- The average household's leaks waste more than 9,000 gallons of water per year, and 10% of homes have leaks wasting 90 gallons or more per day (Source: EPA WaterSense).
Two things set the price of any plumbing visit before a wrench turns: the trip itself and the pricing model. Nearly every shop charges $50 to $150 just to roll a truck. From there, flat-rate shops quote a fixed menu price per task while hourly shops bill $75 to $200 per hour plus parts. Flat rate protects you from a slow tech but bakes in healthy margins, which is how a 30-minute fill valve swap ends up at $350.
Timing is the hidden multiplier. After-hours, weekend, and holiday calls commonly run 1.5 to 2 times regular rates, so a homeowner who shuts off the water and waits until morning often pays hundreds less for the identical repair. Shutting the main is free. The midnight dispatch is not.
On big-ticket items the math favors patience. A tank water heater lasts 8 to 12 years, and once a unit passes 10, a repair bill in the hundreds usually argues for putting that money toward the $1,200 to $3,500 replacement instead. Sewer work rewards second opinions even more, since camera findings get interpreted differently from one company to the next.
Using these numbers
This data is published under CC-BY: cite it freely with a link to mobilephonebook.org, and grab the full dataset at /costs.csv. For the full picture, including the questions to ask and the red flags in this trade, see our plumbers guide or the 2026 cost index.