How much do Google Ads cost a plumber? Forecasts for 5 US cities

Who this is for: Owners of small plumbing shops who want to know what Google Ads would cost before they spend anything What you’ll get: Google’s forecast for five US cities, side by side, and a simple way to turn clicks into calls

The same monthly budget buys very different results depending on your city and your search words. In Google’s forecast, searches for specific jobs got 58.4 to 94.9 clicks at a middle bid cap. Searches for plain “plumber” got 28.7 to 66.0 clicks, and each click cost more. So the real question is not the price of Google Ads. It is which searches you pay for, and where.

What we asked Google to forecast

We used Google’s Keyword Planner on 2026-10-18. It can forecast clicks and cost for a list of keywords, a budget and a bid. We asked for the same settings in five cities.

Setting	Value
Forecast period	2026-10-19 to 2026-11-17 (30 days)
Daily budget	$33.33
Match type	Phrase match
Job-specific keywords	drain cleaning, sewer line repair, water heater replacement, water heater repair, slab leak repair, leak detection, clogged drain, emergency plumber
“Plumber” keywords	plumber, plumber near me, emergency plumber, plumbing repair
Max CPC bids tried	$20.00 / $40.00 / $80.00
Area	Each city as Google defines it

Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner forecast (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3022575) (forecast period 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-17; retrieved 2026-10-18). Compiled by Wrench & Ring.

Three terms matter here. Phrase match shows your ad on searches that include the meaning of your keyword (Google’s explanation). The max CPC bid is the most you are willing to pay for one click (definition). A forecast is an estimate based on your bid, budget, seasonality and past search data (how forecasts work).

Job words cost less per click than “plumber”

Here is the middle bid cap in all five cities. Each city has two rows. One is the job-specific list and one is the plain “plumber” list.

City	Keywords	Spend	Clicks	Avg. cost per click
Dallas, TX	Job-specific	$999.90	79.8	$12.52
Dallas, TX	“Plumber”	$999.90	66.0	$15.15
Phoenix, AZ	Job-specific	$999.90	76.8	$13.03
Phoenix, AZ	“Plumber”	$999.90	55.4	$18.06
Columbus, OH	Job-specific	$999.90	94.9	$10.53
Columbus, OH	“Plumber”	$999.90	57.1	$17.50
Knoxville, TN	Job-specific	$744.53	60.3	$12.35
Knoxville, TN	“Plumber”	$710.39	46.3	$15.34
Boise, ID	Job-specific	$640.40	58.4	$10.96
Boise, ID	“Plumber”	$578.17	28.7	$20.18

Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner forecast (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3022575) (forecast period 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-17; retrieved 2026-10-18). Compiled by Wrench & Ring.

In every city, the job-specific list got more clicks and a lower average cost per click. The biggest gap in clicks was in Columbus. The job list got 94.9 clicks, while the “plumber” list got 57.1 for the same spend.

There is a second reason to prefer job words. Someone typing “water heater replacement” has already said what the job is. Someone typing “plumber” could need anything, from a running toilet to a new main line.

A higher bid cap buys fewer clicks in big cities

Next we kept the job-specific list and changed only the bid cap. This shows what happens when you are willing to pay more per click.

City	Max CPC bid	Spend	Clicks	Avg. cost per click
Dallas, TX	$20.00	$999.90	127.5	$7.84
Dallas, TX	$40.00	$999.90	79.8	$12.52
Dallas, TX	$80.00	$999.90	53.6	$18.66
Phoenix, AZ	$20.00	$999.90	123.9	$8.07
Phoenix, AZ	$40.00	$999.90	76.8	$13.03
Phoenix, AZ	$80.00	$999.90	48.0	$20.84
Columbus, OH	$20.00	$999.90	146.7	$6.81
Columbus, OH	$40.00	$999.90	94.9	$10.53
Columbus, OH	$80.00	$999.90	66.9	$14.94
Knoxville, TN	$20.00	$359.10	48.3	$7.43
Knoxville, TN	$40.00	$744.53	60.3	$12.35
Knoxville, TN	$80.00	$999.90	45.4	$22.00
Boise, ID	$20.00	$331.23	46.6	$7.11
Boise, ID	$40.00	$640.40	58.4	$10.96
Boise, ID	$80.00	$999.90	59.8	$16.73

Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner forecast (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3022575) (forecast period 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-17; retrieved 2026-10-18). Compiled by Wrench & Ring.

Dallas, Phoenix and Columbus spent the whole budget at every cap. There, a higher cap simply meant fewer clicks for the same money. Columbus went from 146.7 clicks to 94.9 and then 66.9.

Knoxville and Boise behaved differently. At the lowest cap they spent only about a third of the budget. That suggests there were not enough searches to win at that price. In Boise, clicks rose with each step up the cap.

So in a smaller city, a low bid cap may leave part of the budget unspent. In this forecast, spending all of it took the highest cap, at a higher cost per click. A wider list of job words, or a wider area, is another option.

Turn clicks into calls with your own numbers

Clicks are not jobs. To get from one to the other, you need two numbers that only you can supply.

1. Calls a month = clicks × the share of clicks that call you
2. Booked jobs a month = calls × the share of calls you book

Take Columbus at the middle cap, with 94.9 clicks. If 1 in 20 clicks calls you, that is 5% and about 4.7 calls. If 1 in 10 calls, that is about 9.5 calls. These two rates are examples for the math, not measured results.

If you have run ads before, use your own rate. Divide the calls you got by the clicks you paid for. If you have never run ads, try both rates and see if the low one still works for you. Our companion piece on plumber leads walks through the cost per call in the same five cities.

How to read this for your own shop

Treat these numbers as a starting point, not a quote. Google’s own help pages describe forecasts as estimates, and real results depend on many factors (Use Keyword Planner).

Three questions will tell you more than any average price:

• Which jobs do you want more of, and do people search for them in your city?
• In your city, is the limit the number of searches or your budget?
• How many booked jobs would pay back one month of ads and any fee?

If a month of ads needs only one or two water heater or sewer jobs to pay back, the numbers above may work. If most of your work is small repairs, they may not. It is better to know that before you start.

Get the same forecast for your city

The numbers above are for five sample cities. Wrench & Ring builds a free page for your shop and emails a forecast for your own city, with the same settings explained. See your free page.