We report the design and fabrication of Si plasmonic waveguide local heaters with ring resonators. Quantification of the local temperature rise is reported through analysis based on the thermo-optic(TO) effect, and the heaters can be miniaturized by introducing a stronger interaction between the propagating light and matter. The resonance wavelength in the waveguide heater was shifted toward a longer wavelength by injecting transverse magnetic mode light, and the shift was proportional to the light intensity. The local temperature rise was 288 K upon inputting 6.3 mW light, and the photothermal conversion efficiency was as high as 46.1 K/mW in a Si plasmonic waveguide loaded with 30 nm-thick and 1 μm-long Co thin films, showing improved characteristics compared with previous devices. Investigation toward achieving a higher efficiency is discussed based on simulation and experimental results, for realizing photothermal waveguide heaters with smaller size, and lower input power for various applications.