Do carpenters make more in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia?

Philadelphia pays more: the median is $61,180 in Pittsburgh and $61,780 in Philadelphia, a 1% difference.

Carpenter salary in Pittsburgh, PA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Carpenters in the Pittsburgh, PA area earn a median of $61,180 a year, or $29.41 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $93,600 a year. Statewide, carpenters earn a median of $59,370; Pittsburgh is 3% above it.

Median yearly pay$61,180

Bottom 10% under$43,940Top 10% over$93,600

Apprentice starting pay (estimate): $21.12/hr
Jobs in this area: 5,920
After cost of living: $64,620
Median hourly pay: $29.41/hr
vs U.S. median: +1%
vs Pennsylvania median: +3%
Mean (average) pay: $66,520 a year · $31.98 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 38300, Pittsburgh, PA). 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 Pittsburgh, PA 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	$21.12	$43,940
25th percentile	$23.40	$48,680
Median (50th)	$29.41	$61,180
75th percentile	$38.14	$79,320
90th percentile	$45.00	$93,600

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

How Pittsburgh, PA compares

Pittsburgh ranks 2nd of 16 Pennsylvania metro areas for carpenter pay.
Carpenters are more concentrated in the Pittsburgh area than nationally: 5.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.

Other Pennsylvania metro areas

Other trades in Pittsburgh, PA

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

Questions

Do carpenters make more in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia?: Philadelphia pays more: the median is $61,180 in Pittsburgh and $61,780 in Philadelphia, 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 38300 (Pittsburgh, PA). 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 (94.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures