Do carpenters make more in Rochester or Minneapolis?

Minneapolis pays more: the median is $63,610 in Rochester and $74,060 in Minneapolis, a 14% difference.

Carpenter salary in Rochester, MN

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Rochester, MN area earn a median of $63,610 a year, or $30.58 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $95,810. That's 2% less than the Minnesota median of $64,930.

Median yearly pay$63,610

Bottom 10% under$45,610Top 10% over$95,810

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.93/hr
Jobs in this area: 460
After cost of living: $70,040
Median hourly pay: $30.58/hr
vs U.S. median: +5%
vs Minnesota median: −2%
Mean (average) pay: $67,060 a year · $32.24 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 40340, Rochester, MN). 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 Rochester, MN 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	$21.93	$45,610
25th percentile	$23.59	$49,070
Median (50th)	$30.58	$63,610
75th percentile	$38.84	$80,790
90th percentile	$46.06	$95,810

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

How Rochester, MN compares

Rochester ranks 2nd of 9 Minnesota metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters are less concentrated in the Rochester area than nationally: 3.7 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.86 times the U.S. share.

Other Minnesota metro areas

Other trades in Rochester, MN

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Rochester or Minneapolis?: Minneapolis pays more: the median is $63,610 in Rochester and $74,060 in Minneapolis, a 14% 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 40340 (Rochester, MN). 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 (90.8, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures