Carpenter salary in Wausau, WI
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Carpenters in the Wausau, WI area earn a median of $49,990 a year, or $24.03 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $79,010 a year. Across all of Wisconsin, the median is $61,660, so Wausau pays 19% less than the state as a whole.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $19.34/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 370
- After cost of living
- $53,960
- Median hourly pay
- $24.03/hr
- vs U.S. median
- −17%
- vs Wisconsin median
- −19%
Apprentice, journeyman and top carpenter pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $40,230–$48,130$19.34–$23.14/hr | |
| Journeyman | $49,990$24.03/hr | |
| Top earners | $61,680–$79,010$29.66–$37.99/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
How Wausau, WI compares
- Wausau has the lowest carpenter median of the 15 Wisconsin metro areas with published pay.
- Carpenters are more concentrated in the Wausau area than nationally: 5.3 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.
- The 90th-percentile wage, $79,010, is 2.0 times the 10th-percentile wage, $40,230: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Other Wisconsin metro areas
Other trades in Wausau, WI
Questions
- How much do carpenters make in Wausau, WI?
- Carpenters in the Wausau, WI area earn a median of $49,990 a year, or $24.03 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $79,010 a year.
- How much do carpenters make an hour in Wausau, WI?
- The median hourly wage is $24.03. The middle half earn between $23.14 and $29.66 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice carpenters make in Wausau, WI?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $19.34 an hour ($40,230 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $23.14.
- How much does a journeyman carpenter make in Wausau, WI?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $49,990 a year ($24.03 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $61,680–$79,010.
- Do carpenters make more in Wausau or Minneapolis?
- Minneapolis pays more: the median is $49,990 in Wausau and $74,060 in Minneapolis, a 33% difference.
- How does Wausau pay compare with the rest of Wisconsin?
- The Wausau median of $49,990 is 19% less than the Wisconsin median of $61,660.
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 48140 (Wausau, WI). 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 (92.7, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures