Do carpenters make more in Cleveland or Columbus?

Columbus pays more: the median is $60,650 in Cleveland and $66,480 in Columbus, a 9% difference.

Carpenter salary in Cleveland, OH

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Cleveland, OH area earn a median of $60,650 a year, or $29.16 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. One in ten earns more than $86,870. Across all of Ohio, the median is $60,810, so Cleveland pays about the same as the state as a whole.

Median yearly pay$60,650

Bottom 10% under$43,610Top 10% over$86,870

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $20.97/hr
Jobs in this area: 3,280
After cost of living: $64,570
Median hourly pay: $29.16/hr
vs U.S. median: 0%
vs Ohio median: 0%
Mean (average) pay: $65,210 a year · $31.35 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 17410, Cleveland, OH). 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 Cleveland, OH 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	$20.97	$43,610
25th percentile	$24.22	$50,370
Median (50th)	$29.16	$60,650
75th percentile	$38.03	$79,110
90th percentile	$41.77	$86,870

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

How Cleveland, OH compares

Cleveland ranks 4th of 15 Ohio metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters are less concentrated in the Cleveland area than nationally: 3.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.74 times the U.S. share.

Other Ohio metro areas

Other trades in Cleveland, OH

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Cleveland or Columbus?: Columbus pays more: the median is $60,650 in Cleveland and $66,480 in Columbus, a 9% 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 17410 (Cleveland, OH). 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 (93.9, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures