How much do carpenters make?

Carpenter salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Carpenters (SOC 47-2031) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Carpenters in the US earned a median of $60,580 a year ($29.12 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $48,510 to $76,830.

Median annual pay: $60,580; Mean $65,630
Median hourly pay: $29.12; Mean $31.55
Typical range (10th–90th): $40.4K–$99.9K; $40,410 to $99,910
US jobs: 670,090; +3.9% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a carpenter: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Illinois

Carpenter pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$40,410
25th percentile$48,510
Median$60,580
75th percentile$76,830
90th percentile$99,910

Half of all carpenters earned more than $60,580 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $40,410; the top 10% made over $99,910. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $48,510 to $76,830.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$40,410	$19.43	$3,368
25th	$48,510	$23.32	$4,043
Median (50th)	$60,580	$29.12	$5,048
75th	$76,830	$36.94	$6,403
90th	$99,910	$48.03	$8,326
Mean (average)	$65,630	$31.55	$5,469

Carpenter salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for carpenters by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. Hawaii $85,280
2. Illinois $79,000
3. California $75,920
4. Massachusetts $75,200
5. Washington $74,190

Lowest-paying states

51. Oklahoma $46,910
50. Arkansas $47,760
49. South Dakota $48,140
48. Alabama $48,220
47. Mississippi $48,650

Best after cost of living: Illinois. Its median of $79,000 is worth about $79,033 at national-average prices, more than in Hawaii once prices are counted.


Alabama	$48,220	48	$54,288	44	$23.18	5,560	2.63
Alaska	$73,860	6	$72,158	3	$35.51	2,560	7.85
Arizona	$58,580	29	$58,186	33	$28.17	16,230	5.01
Arkansas	$47,760	50	$54,936	40	$22.96	4,030	3.09
California	$75,920	3	$68,569	6	$36.50	100,750	5.53
Colorado	$62,830	14	$60,969	24	$30.21	12,740	4.43
Connecticut	$64,060	9	$61,828	22	$30.80	5,160	3.04
Delaware	$59,200	27	$59,314	29	$28.46	2,250	4.64
District of Columbia	$61,710	18	$56,151	35	$29.67	1,540	2.19
Florida	$49,870	42	$48,224	51	$23.98	39,300	3.96
Georgia	$49,350	43	$51,250	49	$23.72	9,190	1.88
Hawaii	$85,280	1	$77,562	2	$41.00	4,810	7.67
Idaho	$52,000	37	$54,454	41	$25.00	8,380	9.78
Illinois	$79,000	2	$79,033	1	$37.98	19,570	3.21
Indiana	$62,870	12	$67,364	7	$30.23	15,240	4.76
Iowa	$57,710	31	$65,757	11	$27.75	5,770	3.70
Kansas	$56,960	32	$63,241	19	$27.39	5,210	3.62
Kentucky	$52,680	35	$58,430	32	$25.33	8,540	4.27
Louisiana	$49,920	41	$56,594	34	$24.00	8,990	4.65
Maine	$62,160	17	$64,049	17	$29.88	5,170	8.07
Maryland	$62,960	11	$59,985	27	$30.27	9,770	3.54
Massachusetts	$75,200	4	$71,106	4	$36.16	18,540	5.10
Michigan	$61,680	19	$64,105	16	$29.66	18,590	4.22
Minnesota	$64,930	8	$65,838	10	$31.22	14,930	5.06
Mississippi	$48,650	47	$55,950	36	$23.39	2,950	2.54
Missouri	$60,840	22	$66,992	9	$29.25	14,410	4.91
Montana	$58,820	28	$62,148	21	$28.28	4,030	7.88
Nebraska	$50,320	40	$55,847	37	$24.19	5,710	5.57
Nevada	$62,380	16	$62,393	20	$29.99	12,700	8.19
New Hampshire	$61,200	21	$58,753	31	$29.42	3,760	5.51
New Jersey	$64,010	10	$58,830	30	$30.77	14,230	3.32
New Mexico	$59,720	25	$64,764	15	$28.71	3,630	4.17
New York	$72,330	7	$67,021	8	$34.77	40,630	4.19
North Carolina	$49,100	44	$52,054	48	$23.61	13,480	2.73
North Dakota	$57,890	30	$65,075	14	$27.83	2,360	5.51
Ohio	$60,810	24	$65,546	12	$29.24	18,450	3.32
Oklahoma	$46,910	51	$53,402	46	$22.55	3,820	2.24
Oregon	$62,870	13	$60,826	26	$30.23	15,110	7.68
Pennsylvania	$59,370	26	$60,847	25	$28.54	30,630	5.05
Rhode Island	$60,840	23	$59,484	28	$29.25	2,580	5.14
South Carolina	$50,670	39	$54,049	45	$24.36	6,950	3.02
South Dakota	$48,140	49	$54,343	43	$23.14	4,560	9.98
Tennessee	$50,830	38	$55,328	38	$24.44	8,200	2.50
Texas	$48,900	45	$50,383	50	$23.51	33,540	2.38
Utah	$52,360	36	$52,962	47	$25.17	15,220	8.77
Vermont	$62,400	15	$63,701	18	$30.00	3,080	10.13
Virginia	$55,690	34	$55,082	39	$26.77	20,460	4.98
Washington	$74,190	5	$69,328	5	$35.67	26,960	7.59
West Virginia	$48,710	46	$54,426	42	$23.42	3,670	5.23
Wisconsin	$61,660	20	$65,530	13	$29.65	13,880	4.72
Wyoming	$56,850	33	$61,333	23	$27.33	2,260	8.06

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for carpenters

384 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Kankakee, IL	$95,280	$98,844	120
Urban Honolulu, HI	$94,310	$84,994	3,120
Michigan City-La Porte, IN	$91,970	$100,314	260
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$89,200	$77,154	14,010
Decatur, IL	$87,220	$98,641	180
Fairbanks-College, AK	$84,970	$82,329	280
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI	$84,430	$90,854	650
Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$82,110	$75,060	700
Napa, CA	$80,590	$71,601	650
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$80,520	$74,705	2,150

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	34,210	$74,300	$66,007
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	30,600	$75,740	$66,692
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	14,970	$76,410	$68,755
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	14,260	$61,780	$60,241
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	14,220	$80,440	$77,649
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	14,010	$89,200	$77,154
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	13,280	$60,800	$55,839
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	12,970	$70,880	$66,590
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	12,720	$75,210	$69,468
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	12,710	$60,320	$58,384

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves carpenter pay: employers and settings

Where you live makes the biggest difference in carpenter pay: the gap between states is far wider than the gap between types of employer. Hawaii has the highest state median at $85,280, followed by Illinois at $79,000, California at $75,920, Massachusetts at $75,200, and Washington at $74,190. The lowest are South Dakota at $48,140, Arkansas at $47,760, and Oklahoma at $46,910. Illinois stays near the top even after adjusting for living costs.

Type of work matters less than you might expect. Homebuilding and remodeling, the largest employer group at 30.5% of carpenters, pays a median of $60,600. Commercial and industrial building construction pays $63,780. Highway, street and bridge work pays $64,640. Foundation, structure and exterior contractors, which include framing crews, pay $58,790. Carpenters on government payrolls earn a bit more: $71,700 in the federal government and $63,560 in local government.

Union membership, completing a registered apprenticeship and reaching journey-level status all move pay up, as does running crews. Pay ranges from $40,410, the 10th percentile, to $99,910, the 90th; that spread reflects location, skill level, union status and steady work, not just years. Weather and slow seasons can cut annual hours, and the self-employed earn what they can bill.

Where carpenters work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Residential Building Construction	30.5%	$60,600
Building Finishing Contractors	16.9%	$60,880
Nonresidential Building Construction	16.2%	$63,780
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors	13.6%	$58,790
Other Specialty Trade Contractors	2.6%	$59,900
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction	2.2%	$64,640

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	656,700	$60,530
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	1,650	$71,700
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	3,210	$60,010
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	8,530	$63,560

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Carpenter pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$60.6K $42.1K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $42,090 in 2015 to $60,580 in 2025, up 44% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $56,897 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 6% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What carpenters do

A carpenter builds and installs the wood and wood-like parts of buildings and other structures. On a new house, framing carpenters stand up the walls, floor joists and roof rafters; finish carpenters come back later to hang doors, run trim and baseboard, build stairs and set cabinets. On commercial and heavy jobs, carpenters build the wooden forms that concrete is poured into for foundations, columns and bridge decks, put up scaffolding and shoring, and install metal-stud walls, drywall and ceilings.

About three in ten work for homebuilders and remodelers, and many others work for specialty contractors that handle framing, drywall, finish work or concrete. A quarter are self-employed, often doing remodeling, decks and repairs for homeowners. Carpenters work with plans and a foreman's instructions, alongside laborers, electricians, plumbers and other trades. The work is physical: lifting heavy materials, climbing ladders and scaffolds, kneeling and working outdoors in heat and cold. Start times are early, and weather can stop work or stretch the week.

A typical day

Read blueprints and lay out walls, openings and stair runs with a tape, chalk line and laser level
Cut lumber, plywood and trim to size with circular saws, miter saws and table saws
Frame walls, floors and roofs and check that they are plumb, level and square
Build and brace wooden forms for concrete footings, walls and columns
Hang doors and windows, install cabinets and run trim and molding
Set up scaffolding and ladders and follow fall-protection rules
Tear out rotted or damaged framing and replace it during remodels and repairs

Also called: bridge carpenter, cabinet maker, carpentry construction specialist, concrete carpenter, construction carpenter, finish carpenter, form carpenter, maintenance carpenter.

How to become a carpenter

Full guide

To become a carpenter, you need a high school diploma or GED, then you train on the job as a helper or in a paid apprenticeship that usually lasts 4 years (often 8,000 hours of work plus classroom instruction). No state license is needed to work for someone else, though many states require a contractor license to take jobs on your own.

Typical time: 4 years (registered apprenticeship to journey level); Fastest: Under 1 year (entry-level helper or carpenter job)
Minimum education: High school diploma or equivalent
License: Not licensed as an individual tradesperson; contractor licensing or registration for self-employed carpenters varies by state and city
Typical training cost: $0–$9.2K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a carpenter: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 4 years (registered apprenticeship to journey level); Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $0–$9.2K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $60,580; $9,600 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 0–15%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($9,600 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (4 years (registered apprenticeship to journey level) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for carpenters

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +3.9%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 889,700; 924,700 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 62,800; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 25.1%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects carpenter jobs to grow 3.9% from 2025 to 2035, from 889,700 to 924,700, about the same pace as the 3.5% average. New homes for a growing population, along with factories and other commercial buildings, should add work. Prefabrication cuts the other way: more walls, roofs and even whole buildings are now made in factories and assembled onsite, which needs fewer carpenters. Because the field is so large, about 62,800 openings are expected each year, mostly to replace carpenters who retire or change jobs. Hiring also rises and falls with the construction market.

Related careers and their pay

Construction Worker$47,120
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$58,930
Structural Iron and Steel Workers$62,780
Brickmasons and Blockmasons$62,120
Sheet Metal Workers$61,800

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Carpenter salary FAQ

How much do carpenters make an hour?

The median hourly wage for carpenters was $29.12 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $19.43 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $48.03. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays carpenters the most?

Hawaii has the highest median pay for carpenters, $85,280 a year, followed by Illinois ($79,000) and California ($75,920). After adjusting for each state's price level, Illinois comes out ahead at about $79,033 in national-average dollars.

Do carpenters make six figures?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of carpenters earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $60,580, and the top 10% earn more than $99,910. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a rough carpenter and a finish carpenter?

Rough carpenters build the structure: wall framing, floor and roof systems, concrete forms, scaffolding and temporary supports. Precision matters, but the work will be covered up. Finish carpenters install what people see, such as doors, trim, baseboard, stairs, built-ins and cabinets, where gaps of a sixteenth of an inch show. Many carpenters do both early on and specialize later.

Is carpentry hard on your body?

It can be. Carpenters lift heavy lumber and panels, stand and kneel for hours, climb ladders and scaffolds, and work outdoors in all seasons. Strains from lifting, falls, and cuts or impacts from tools and materials are the common injuries. Good lifting habits, fall protection, hearing and eye protection, and moving toward finish or supervisory work later in a career help many carpenters last.

Can carpenters be self-employed?

Yes, and many are: 25.1% of carpenters work for themselves, mostly in remodeling, repairs, decks and finish work for homeowners. Running your own business means bidding jobs, buying materials, carrying insurance and finding steady clients. Many states and cities require a contractor license or registration for paid jobs above a set dollar amount or jobs that need a permit; our how-to guide gives California's rule as an example.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 47-2031
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (47-2031.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Carpenters, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
Carpenter apprenticeship program listing (Inland Northwest AGC), Career Bridge, Washington State Workforce Board · checked October 28, 2026
Outreach Training Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration · checked October 28, 2026
Before Applying for the Examination, California Contractors State License Board · checked October 28, 2026

Careers and Salaries is not affiliated with the Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Found an error? Tell us; corrections are listed on the editorial policy page.