Carpenter salary in Los Angeles, CA
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Carpenters in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA area earn a median of $75,740 a year, or $36.41 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $117,430. Across all of California, the median is $75,920, so Los Angeles pays about the same as the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.53/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 30,600
- After cost of living
- $66,690
- Median hourly pay
- $36.41/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +25%
- vs California median
- 0%
Apprentice, journeyman and top carpenter pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $46,860–$59,470$22.53–$28.59/hr | |
| Journeyman | $75,740$36.41/hr | |
| Top earners | $100,620–$117,430$48.37–$56.46/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Los Angeles, CA compares
- Los Angeles ranks 9th of 25 California metro areas for carpenter pay.
- Carpenters are more concentrated in the Los Angeles area than nationally: 4.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.1 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $117,430, is 2.5 times the 10th-percentile wage, $46,860: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other California metro areas
Other trades in Los Angeles, CA
Questions
- How much do carpenters make in Los Angeles, CA?
- Carpenters in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA area earn a median of $75,740 a year, or $36.41 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $117,430.
- How much do carpenters make an hour in Los Angeles, CA?
- The median hourly wage is $36.41. The middle half earn between $28.59 and $48.37 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice carpenters make in Los Angeles, CA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.53 an hour ($46,860 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $28.59.
- How much does a journeyman carpenter make in Los Angeles, CA?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $75,740 a year ($36.41 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $100,620–$117,430.
- Do carpenters make more in Los Angeles or San Francisco?
- San Francisco pays more: the median is $75,740 in Los Angeles and $89,200 in San Francisco, a 15% difference.
- How does Los Angeles pay compare with the rest of California?
- The Los Angeles median of $75,740 is about the same as the California median of $75,920.
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 31080 (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA). 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 (113.6, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures