TradeSalary

Carpenter salary in Alabama

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in Alabama earn a median of $48,220 a year, or $23.18 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $63,140. Alabama ranks 48th of 51 states and DC for carpenter pay, at 20% less than the U.S. median of $60,580.

Median yearly pay$48,220
Bottom 10% under$34,430Top 10% over$63,140
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$16.55/hr
Jobs in Alabama
5,560
After cost of living
$54,290
Median hourly pay
$23.18/hr
vs U.S. median
−20%
Rank among states
48th of 51
Mean (average) pay
$49,490 a year · $23.79 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 01). Excludes self-employed carpenters. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What carpenters in Alabama 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$16.55$34,430
25th percentile$19.43$40,410
Median (50th)$23.18$48,220
75th percentile$27.11$56,390
90th percentile$30.36$63,140

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 Alabama rose 28.2%, from $37,620 in May 2021 to $48,220 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 7.3%.

YearMedian a yearMedian an hour
May 2021$37,620$18.09/hr
May 2022$40,620$19.53/hr
May 2023$44,480$21.39/hr
May 2024$47,880$23.02/hr
May 2025$48,220$23.18/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

How Alabama compares

  • Carpenters are less concentrated in Alabama than nationally: 2.6 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.61 times the U.S. share.

Pay by metro area

See all Alabama metro areas

Rural Alabama

  • Northwest Alabama$47,580
  • Northeast Alabama$45,440
  • Southeast Alabama$44,770
  • Southwest Alabama$41,210

Other trades in Alabama

Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Alabama list what contractors must pay carpenters on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.

Questions

Where in Alabama do carpenters earn the most?
Among Alabama metro areas, Florence–Muscle Shoals has the highest median at $51,740 a year, and Gadsden the lowest at $41,180.

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), area code 01. BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed carpenters and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (88.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures