Plumbing statistics span far more than pipes and fixtures: they measure household water access, sanitation, wastewater treatment, hygiene, health exposure, residential demand and the people who maintain these systems. The figures below distinguish global estimates from U.S. study benchmarks, surveys and forecasts, with measurement periods kept explicit.
Key Plumbing Statistics
These are the most broadly useful plumbing statistics across infrastructure, household services, health and the U.S. plumbing market:
- In 2024, 74% of the world’s population used safely managed drinking-water services.
- In 2024, 2.1 billion people worldwide lacked safely managed drinking-water services.
- In 2024, 3.4 billion people worldwide lacked safely managed sanitation services.
- In 2024, 82% of the world population had at least basic sanitation coverage.
- In 2024, 354 million people worldwide still practised open defecation.
- In 2020, 44% of household wastewater generated globally was discharged without safe treatment.
- In 2024, basic hygiene services covered 80% of the world population.
- In 2024, 1.7 billion people worldwide lacked a handwashing facility with soap and water at home.
- In 2024, people in least developed countries were more than twice as likely to lack safely managed drinking water as the global comparison population.
- WHO’s modeled 2019 global burden estimated that 1.4 million deaths per year could have been prevented with adequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
- In 2022, at least 1.7 billion people used a drinking-water source contaminated with faeces.
- In 2022, 33% of the global population used private sanitation connected to sewers from which wastewater was treated.
- In 2022, 57% of the world population used a safely managed sanitation service.
- In 2016, North American homes used 14.2 gallons per capita per day for toilets in the REUW study.
- Average indoor residential water use was 58.6 gallons per capita per day in the 2016 REUW study of North American homes.
- High-efficiency new U.S. single-family homes used 36.7 gallons per capita per day indoors in a 2011 study.
- WaterSense estimates that replacing showerheads with labeled models can save an average U.S. family more than 2,700 gallons of water per year.
- The United States had 455,940 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in May 2024.
Contents
- Global drinking-water access and plumbing infrastructure
- Sanitation, sewerage and wastewater plumbing data
- Household hygiene and bathing service statistics
- Geographic inequality in plumbing and WASH access
- Health outcomes linked to water and sanitation
- U.S. residential plumbing water-use benchmarks
- Plumbing workforce, fixture savings and housing adequacy
Global Drinking-Water Access and Plumbing Infrastructure
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) defines safely managed drinking-water as an improved source that is accessible on premises, available when needed and free from contamination. Its 2024 estimates cover 160 countries and six of eight SDG regions, representing 72% of the global population, so indicator coverage is incomplete.
The global picture is substantial but unfinished. In 2024, 74% of the world’s population used safely managed drinking-water services, while 2.1 billion people did not.
| 2024 drinking-water service category | People worldwide |
|---|---|
| Used a basic service | 1.4 billion |
| Used a limited service | 287 million |
| Used an unimproved source | 302 million |
| Used surface water | 106 million |
Source: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024. The JMP categories are distinct service levels and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Progress is visible at the lowest end of the service ladder: the number of people using surface water was 61 million lower in 2024 than in 2015. That change does not mean every remaining gap is a plumbing connection gap, because the JMP ladder also captures source quality, availability and access conditions.
Sanitation, Sewerage and Wastewater Plumbing Data
Sanitation statistics show why a toilet, sewer connection and safely managed service are different measures. In 2024, 3.4 billion people lacked safely managed sanitation, although 1.2 billion people gained access to that level between 2015 and 2024.
At least basic sanitation coverage reached 82% of the world population in 2024, but the urban-rural difference remained clear:
- At least basic sanitation covered 72% of the rural population in 2024.
- At least basic sanitation covered 89% of the urban population in 2024.
- In 2024, 354 million people still practised open defecation.
- In 2024, 560 million people used limited sanitation services, while 555 million used unimproved services.
Source: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024.
Wastewater treatment adds another outcome layer. WHO reported that 44% of household wastewater generated globally in 2020 was discharged without safe treatment, meaning household plumbing performance cannot be judged only by whether wastewater leaves the home.
Household Hygiene and Bathing Service Statistics
Hygiene infrastructure includes a handwashing facility with soap and water at home. In 2024, basic hygiene services covered 80% of the world population, while 1.7 billion people lacked that basic facility standard.
The 2024 JMP estimate separates limited access from no facility:
- 611 million people had no handwashing facility at home.
- About 1.0 billion people had a limited hygiene service rather than a basic service.
- Between 2015 and 2024, 1.6 billion people gained access to basic hygiene services.
- Basic hygiene service coverage was 71% in rural areas in 2024.
Source: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024. A separate WHO summary reported that 2.0 billion people lacked a basic household hygiene service in 2022; the two figures use different measurement years.
Bathing, handwashing and toilet facilities are related household services, but they are not one combined indicator. Keeping the definitions separate prevents a high-level hygiene percentage from being mistaken for universal access to complete bathroom plumbing.
Geographic Inequality in Plumbing and WASH Access
The JMP’s 2024 reporting had safely managed drinking-water estimates for 160 countries, safely managed sanitation estimates for 145 countries and basic hygiene estimates for 91 countries. These different coverage counts matter when comparing indicators across geographies.
Least developed countries faced larger service gaps than the global comparison population in 2024:
- People in least developed countries were more than twice as likely to lack safely managed drinking water.
- They were nearly twice as likely to lack safely managed sanitation.
- They were more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene services.
Source: Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024. The comparisons are reported as “more than,” “nearly” and “more than three times,” not as exact point estimates.
The inequality measures also show why global averages can conceal local infrastructure conditions. A service may be counted as basic while remaining limited by distance, availability, contamination or the absence of safe downstream wastewater management.
Health Outcomes Linked to Water and Sanitation
Water and sanitation infrastructure has measurable health implications, but the health figures below are modeled burdens or exposure estimates rather than direct counts of plumbing installations. WHO’s latest WASH burden estimates reported that 1.4 million deaths per year could have been prevented with adequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene; the underlying burden estimate is for 2019.
| Health or exposure measure | Period and geography | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths attributed to unsafe sanitation | Latest WHO burden estimate, world | 564,000 per year |
| People using faecally contaminated drinking water | 2022, world | At least 1.7 billion |
| Annual diarrhoeal deaths linked to microbiologically contaminated water | Estimate reported 2023, world | About 505,000 |
| Children under 5 whose deaths could have been prevented by better WASH | 2019, world | 395,000 |
Source: Drinking-water and Sanitation.
Other measures describe exposure and need rather than service coverage. More than 251.4 million people required preventive treatment for schistosomiasis in 2021, more than 2 billion people lived in water-stressed countries in 2021, and at least 10% of the world population was estimated to consume food irrigated by wastewater.
In 2022, 88% of the world population used at least a basic sanitation service, 57% used a safely managed sanitation service, 33% used private sanitation connected to sewers from which wastewater was treated, and 21% used toilets or latrines where excreta were safely disposed of in situ. These are complementary service pathways, not additive categories.
U.S. Residential Plumbing Water-Use Benchmarks
The U.S. figures here are study benchmarks, not one current national plumbing census. EPA’s WaterSense supporting statement reported residential end-use measurements from the 1999 and 2016 REUW studies and a separate 2011 study of new single-family homes.
| Study or standard | Plumbing measure | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| REUW1999, North American homes | Toilet use | 18.5 gallons per capita per day |
| REUW2016, North American homes | Toilet use | 14.2 gallons per capita per day |
| REUW1999, North American homes | Average indoor use | 69.3 gallons per capita per day |
| REUW2016, North American homes | Average indoor use | 58.6 gallons per capita per day |
| 2011 study, new U.S. single-family homes | Average indoor use with high-efficiency fixtures, appliances and design | 36.7 gallons per capita per day |
Source: WaterSense Specification for Homes, Version 2.0 Supporting Statement. EPA reported the 2011 new-home result as 37% greater water efficiency than the REUW2016 North American home benchmark; that comparison uses separate studies and populations.
Federal fixture standards provide historical context. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 established a maximum residential toilet flush volume of 1.6 gallons per flush and a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute for bathroom sink faucets, kitchen faucets and showerheads; the U.S. Department of Energy adopted a 2.2-gallons-per-minute maximum for all faucets in 1998.
Plumbing Workforce, Fixture Savings and Housing Adequacy
Plumbing outcomes depend on both installed equipment and skilled workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 455,940 plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in May 2024, with mean hourly pay of $33.63 and median hourly pay of $30.27.
The occupational grouping is broader than plumbers alone. BLS projected the combined occupation group to grow from 510,600 employed workers in 2023 to 545,200 in 2033; this is a forecast, not realized employment.
Efficiency programs provide household-level estimates. EPA WaterSense estimates that replacing showerheads with WaterSense-labeled models can save an average family more than 2,700 gallons of water per year and reduce water and electricity costs by $70 per year; actual savings vary with household use, rates and local conditions.
See Statistics and Facts.
Housing adequacy provides an older infrastructure measure. The national American Housing Survey reported 1.435 million occupied units with severe plumbing problems in 2011.
The AHS definition depends on its survey variables, and the report notes historical questionnaire and measurement changes, so this figure should be retained as a dated survey result rather than treated as a current estimate.
Source: Occupational Employment and Wages – May 2024, Occupational projections and worker characteristics and American Housing Survey: Housing Adequacy and Quality As Measured by the AHS.