Do carpenters make more in Detroit or Ann Arbor?

Detroit pays more: the median is $65,810 in Detroit and $65,170 in Ann Arbor, a 1% difference.

Carpenter salary in Detroit, MI

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI area earn a median of $65,810 a year, or $31.64 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $82,790. That's 7% more than the Michigan median of $61,680.

Median yearly pay$65,810

Bottom 10% under$47,560Top 10% over$82,790

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $22.86/hr
Jobs in this area: 7,610
After cost of living: $65,610
Median hourly pay: $31.64/hr
vs U.S. median: +9%
vs Michigan median: +7%
Mean (average) pay: $66,770 a year · $32.10 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 19820, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI). 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 Detroit, MI 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	$22.86	$47,560
25th percentile	$25.05	$52,090
Median (50th)	$31.64	$65,810
75th percentile	$38.49	$80,050
90th percentile	$39.80	$82,790

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

How Detroit, MI compares

Detroit has the highest carpenter median of the 16 Michigan metro areas with published pay.
Carpenters hold about the same share of jobs in the Detroit area as nationally: 4.0 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other Michigan metro areas

Other trades in Detroit, MI

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Detroit or Ann Arbor?: Detroit pays more: the median is $65,810 in Detroit and $65,170 in Ann Arbor, 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 19820 (Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI). 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 (100.3, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures