TradeSalary

Carpenter salary in Joplin, MO-KS

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Joplin, MO-KS area earn a median of $48,540 a year, or $23.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $84,880 a year. That's 20% less than the Missouri median of $60,840.

Median yearly pay$48,540
Bottom 10% under$32,000Top 10% over$84,880
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$15.39/hr
Jobs in this area
300
After cost of living
$56,630
Median hourly pay
$23.34/hr
vs U.S. median
−20%
vs Missouri median
−20%
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 27900, Joplin, MO-KS). 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.

Apprentice, journeyman and top carpenter pay

StageYearly payHourly pay
Apprentice$32,000–$40,280$15.39–$19.37/hr
Journeyman$48,540$23.34/hr
Top earners$66,630–$84,880$32.04–$40.81/hr

Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.

How Joplin, MO-KS compares

  • Joplin has the lowest carpenter median of the 8 Missouri metro areas with published pay.
  • Carpenters are less concentrated in the Joplin area than nationally: 3.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.79 times the U.S. share.
  • The 90th-percentile wage, $84,880, is 2.7 times the 10th-percentile wage, $32,000: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.

Other Missouri metro areas

Other trades in Joplin, MO-KS

Questions

How much do carpenters make in Joplin, MO-KS?
Carpenters in the Joplin, MO-KS area earn a median of $48,540 a year, or $23.34 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $84,880 a year.
How much do carpenters make an hour in Joplin, MO-KS?
The median hourly wage is $23.34. The middle half earn between $19.37 and $32.04 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
What do apprentice carpenters make in Joplin, MO-KS?
BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $15.39 an hour ($32,000 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $19.37.
How much does a journeyman carpenter make in Joplin, MO-KS?
BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $48,540 a year ($23.34 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $66,630–$84,880.
Do carpenters make more in Joplin or St. Louis?
St. Louis pays more: the median is $48,540 in Joplin and $70,990 in St. Louis, a 32% difference.
How does Joplin pay compare with the rest of Missouri?
The Joplin median of $48,540 is 20% less than the Missouri median of $60,840.

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 27900 (Joplin, MO-KS). 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 (85.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures