Carpenter salary
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Carpenters in the U.S. earn a median of $60,580 a year, or $29.12 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $99,910.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $19.43/hr
- Jobs nationwide
- 670,090
- Median hourly pay
- $29.12/hr
- Mean (average) pay
- $65,630 a year · $31.55 an hour
Pay by percentile
What carpenters in the U.S. earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.43 | $40,410 |
| 25th percentile | $23.32 | $48,510 |
| Median (50th) | $29.12 | $60,580 |
| 75th percentile | $36.94 | $76,830 |
| 90th percentile | $48.03 | $99,910 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
Pay over time
The median carpenter wage in the U.S. rose 25.5%, from $48,260 in May 2021 to $60,580 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 5.1%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $48,260 | $23.20/hr |
| May 2022 | $51,390 | $24.71/hr |
| May 2023 | $56,350 | $27.09/hr |
| May 2024 | $59,310 | $28.51/hr |
| May 2025 | $60,580 | $29.12/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
Carpenter pay by state
- Hawaii$85,280
- Illinois$79,000
- California$75,920
- Massachusetts$75,200
- Washington$74,190
- Alaska$73,860
- New York$72,330
- Minnesota$64,930
- Connecticut$64,060
- New Jersey$64,010
See all 50 states and DC
- Maryland$62,960
- Indiana$62,870
- Oregon$62,870
- Colorado$62,830
- Vermont$62,400
- Nevada$62,380
- Maine$62,160
- District of Columbia$61,710
- Michigan$61,680
- Wisconsin$61,660
- New Hampshire$61,200
- Missouri$60,840
- Rhode Island$60,840
- Ohio$60,810
- New Mexico$59,720
- Pennsylvania$59,370
- Delaware$59,200
- Montana$58,820
- Arizona$58,580
- North Dakota$57,890
- Iowa$57,710
- Kansas$56,960
- Wyoming$56,850
- Virginia$55,690
- Kentucky$52,680
- Utah$52,360
- Idaho$52,000
- Tennessee$50,830
- South Carolina$50,670
- Nebraska$50,320
- Louisiana$49,920
- Florida$49,870
- Georgia$49,350
- North Carolina$49,100
- Texas$48,900
- West Virginia$48,710
- Mississippi$48,650
- Alabama$48,220
- South Dakota$48,140
- Arkansas$47,760
- Oklahoma$46,910
Top-paying metro areas
- KankakeeIL$95,280
- Urban HonoluluHI$94,310
- Michigan City–La PorteIN$91,970
- San Francisco–Oakland–FremontCA$89,200
- DecaturIL$87,220
- Fairbanks–CollegeAK$84,970
- Oshkosh–NeenahWI$84,430
- Kahului–WailukuHI$82,110
- NapaCA$80,590
- Santa Rosa–PetalumaCA$80,520
See the top 20
Every metro area ranked by carpenter pay after cost of living
Other trades in the U.S.
Questions
- Which state pays carpenters the most?
- Hawaii, with a median of $85,280 a year, followed by Illinois ($79,000). Oklahoma has the lowest median, $46,910.
- Which metro area pays carpenters the most?
- The Kankakee, IL area, with a median of $95,280 a year.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2031 (Carpenters). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed carpenters and business owners aren't included. Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures