Do carpenters make more in Asheville or Virginia Beach?

Pay is about the same: the median is $51,290 in Asheville and $51,500 in Virginia Beach.

Carpenter salary in Asheville, NC

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Asheville, NC area earn a median of $51,290 a year, or $24.66 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $74,130. That's 4% more than the North Carolina median of $49,100.

Median yearly pay$51,290

Bottom 10% under$35,880Top 10% over$74,130

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $17.25/hr
Jobs in this area: 750
After cost of living: $53,150
Median hourly pay: $24.66/hr
vs U.S. median: −15%
vs North Carolina median: +4%
Mean (average) pay: $52,620 a year · $25.30 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 11700, Asheville, NC). 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 Asheville, NC 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	$17.25	$35,880
25th percentile	$20.76	$43,180
Median (50th)	$24.66	$51,290
75th percentile	$29.67	$61,720
90th percentile	$35.64	$74,130

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

How Asheville, NC compares

Asheville ranks 3rd of 16 North Carolina metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters hold about the same share of jobs in the Asheville area as nationally: 4.1 of every 1,000 jobs.

Other North Carolina metro areas

Other trades in Asheville, NC

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Asheville or Virginia Beach?: Pay is about the same: the median is $51,290 in Asheville and $51,500 in Virginia Beach.

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 11700 (Asheville, NC). 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 (96.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures