Do carpenters make more in Lakeland or Tampa?

Tampa pays more: the median is $45,970 in Lakeland and $52,130 in Tampa, a 12% difference.

Carpenter salary in Lakeland, FL

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Lakeland–Winter Haven, FL area earn a median of $45,970 a year, or $22.10 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $61,000. That's 8% less than the Florida median of $49,870.

Median yearly pay$45,970

Bottom 10% under$35,320Top 10% over$61,000

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $16.98/hr
Jobs in this area: 800
After cost of living: $47,320
Median hourly pay: $22.10/hr
vs U.S. median: −24%
vs Florida median: −8%
Mean (average) pay: $47,420 a year · $22.80 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 29460, Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL). 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 Lakeland, FL 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	$16.98	$35,320
25th percentile	$18.69	$38,880
Median (50th)	$22.10	$45,970
75th percentile	$25.50	$53,030
90th percentile	$29.33	$61,000

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

How Lakeland, FL compares

Lakeland ranks 21st of 22 Florida metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters are less concentrated in the Lakeland area than nationally: 3.0 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.70 times the U.S. share.

Other Florida metro areas

Other trades in Lakeland, FL

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Lakeland or Tampa?: Tampa pays more: the median is $45,970 in Lakeland and $52,130 in Tampa, a 12% 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 29460 (Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL). 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 (97.1, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures