Carpenter salary in Iowa
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Carpenters in Iowa earn a median of $57,710 a year, or $27.75 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $76,540. Iowa ranks 31st of 51 states and DC for carpenter pay, at 5% less than the U.S. median of $60,580.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $18.77/hr
- Jobs in Iowa
- 5,770
- After cost of living
- $65,760
- Median hourly pay
- $27.75/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −5%
- Rank among states
- 31st of 51
- Mean (average) pay
- $57,640 a year · $27.71 an hour
Pay by percentile
What carpenters in Iowa 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 | $18.77 | $39,040 |
| 25th percentile | $22.91 | $47,640 |
| Median (50th) | $27.75 | $57,710 |
| 75th percentile | $31.69 | $65,910 |
| 90th percentile | $36.80 | $76,540 |
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 Iowa rose 23.5%, from $46,740 in May 2021 to $57,710 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it rose 3.4%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $46,740 | $22.47/hr |
| May 2022 | $47,960 | $23.06/hr |
| May 2023 | $48,830 | $23.48/hr |
| May 2024 | $54,080 | $26.00/hr |
| May 2025 | $57,710 | $27.75/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 Iowa compares
- Carpenters are less concentrated in Iowa than nationally: 3.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.86 times the U.S. share.
Pay by metro area
Rural Iowa
- Northeast Iowa$52,000
- Southwest Iowa$51,820
- Southeast Iowa$51,280
- Northwest Iowa$47,830
Other trades in Iowa
Bidding federal work? Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates in Iowa list what contractors must pay carpenters on federal and federally assisted jobs, county by county.
Questions
- Where in Iowa do carpenters earn the most?
- Among Iowa metro areas, Des Moines–West Des Moines has the highest median at $61,360 a year, and Iowa City the lowest at $49,680.
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 19. 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 (87.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures