Do carpenters make more in Decatur or Birmingham?

Decatur pays more: the median is $50,950 in Decatur and $50,400 in Birmingham, a 1% difference.

Carpenter salary in Decatur, AL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Decatur, AL area earn a median of $50,950 a year, or $24.50 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $69,410 a year. Statewide, carpenters earn a median of $48,220; Decatur is 6% above it.

Median yearly pay$50,950

Bottom 10% under$37,320Top 10% over$69,410

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $17.94/hr
Jobs in this area: 190
After cost of living: $58,420
Median hourly pay: $24.50/hr
vs U.S. median: −16%
vs Alabama median: +6%
Mean (average) pay: $53,070 a year · $25.52 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 19460, Decatur, AL). 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 Decatur, AL 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	$17.94	$37,320
25th percentile	$21.75	$45,230
Median (50th)	$24.50	$50,950
75th percentile	$28.48	$59,230
90th percentile	$33.37	$69,410

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Decatur, AL compares

Decatur ranks 2nd of 13 Alabama metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters are less concentrated in the Decatur area than nationally: 3.1 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.72 times the U.S. share.

Other Alabama metro areas

Other trades in Decatur, AL

Electrician HVAC technician Welder Lineman Plumber Diesel mechanic Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic Ironworker Millwright

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Decatur or Birmingham?: Decatur pays more: the median is $50,950 in Decatur and $50,400 in Birmingham, a 1% difference.

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 19460 (Decatur, AL). 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 (87.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures