FixtureUnitFixture units in, pipe size out — the table the code actually uses.

How much does a whole-house repipe cost in Des Moines, IA?

A whole-house repipe in Des Moines, IA
$12,123
20 fixtures · typical range $7,678 – $21,216
Typical total$606 per fixture$12,123
Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this$7,678 – $21,216
Labor portion70% of the job — this is the part that moves by city$8,486
Material portion30% — bought at national prices$3,637
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters pay near Des Moinesabout $35/hr · Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro$73,230/yr
U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2152$72,170/yr
Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs +1.5% against the U.S. mean+$123

Notes

  • Where the number comes from. The national price for a whole-house repipe is $600 per fixture — whole-house repipe pricing published for 2026, $380–$1,050 per fixture — the low end is PEX, the high end copper. Labor is about 70% of that. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters near Des Moines, IA average $73,230 a year against a U.S. mean of $72,170 — a factor of 1.015 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area, SOC 47-2152.
  • Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
  • What is in the price: new supply lines to every fixture, valves, connections at each stub-out, pressure testing, and labor.
  • What is not: drywall repair and repainting after the walls are opened, drain and vent lines, the water heater, and permits. These are the lines that turn a $12,123 quote into a $15,154 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
  • Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.

a whole-house repipe in Des Moines, IA

$12,123 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $7,678 and $21,216.

That is $123 more than the same job priced at the national average.

Why the city changes the number

About 70% of this job is labor — $8,486 of the $12,123 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters near Des Moines average $73,230 a year, against a U.S. mean of $72,170. That is a factor of 1.015, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area, SOC 47-2152.

What the quote should include

The lines that turn a quote into an invoice

Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $12,123 and something a quarter higher.

Use it as a bid check, not a quote

This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.

If a bid lands outside $7,678 – $21,216, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.

Nearby sizes

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