Side-by-side distribution
Architect
$180,350
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34%
- Live roles
- 3,253
Plumber
$100,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 59.8%
- Live roles
- 107
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Systems Software Architect
Data Center Standards Architect
Principal Technical Architect, Product Management (AWS/Azure)
3P Systems Architect
Principal Solutions Architect, Public Sector Federal
Data Center Infrastructure Architect
Hardware Platform Security Architect
Interconnect and Compute Architect
Sr. Performance Modeling Architect
Chiplet Design Architect
Highest-paying jobs
1099 Master Plumber
Residential Plumber
1099 Master Plumber
1099 Master Plumber
1099 Master Plumber
1099 Master Plumber
Residential Service Plumber
Journeyman Plumber
Plumber
Residential Service Plumber
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Databricks
|
$213,750 | 82 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,600 | 50 |
Air Apps
|
$200,000 | 31 |
Myriad360
|
$262,500 | 27 |
Elastic
|
$154,935 | 16 |
Anthropic
|
$277,500 | 15 |
Fivetran
|
$196,301 | 15 |
Snowflake
|
$185,000 | 15 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Renuity
|
$105,000 | 16 |
| SI Sila | $83,200 | 9 |
Superior Contracting & Maintenance
|
$117,000 | 5 |
Cogentanalytics
|
$100,000 | 4 |
Jacuzzi Group
|
$135,200 | 3 |
| MC Michels Corporation | $101,962 | 3 |
MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions
|
$98,800 | 2 |
G.E. Mechanical
|
$72,800 | 2 |
Architect salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $212,000 | 29 |
| San Francisco | $208,425 | 136 |
| London | $202,500 | 17 |
| Amsterdam | $200,000 | 3 |
| Paris | $200,000 | 5 |
| Atlanta | $190,391 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $190,000 | 34 |
| Austin | $190,000 | 27 |
| New York | $185,000 | 172 |
| Boston | $180,750 | 50 |
Architect vs Plumber: which pays more?
The median for Architect is $180,350 per year (typically $150,000–$213,750), versus $100,000 for Plumber ($69,680–$112,320). That puts Architect about 80% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Architect and Plumber are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.