United States · BLS May 2025

Carpenter Salary

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 670,090 carpenters across the country. Pay varies more by state than most people expect, and the state that pays most is not always the one that leaves most.

Median pay · the United States

$60,580A year, or $29.12 an hour.
Jobs counted670,090Wage and salary jobs
What carpenters earn in the United States, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$40,410$19.43
25th percentile$48,510$23.32
MedianHalf earn more, half less$60,580$29.12
75th percentile$76,830$36.94
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$99,910$48.03
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$65,630$31.55
How we got this
  1. Median wage in the United StatesBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of carpenters earned more than this, half less.$60,580
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$29.12
  3. Jobs countedWage and salary jobs; the self-employed are not surveyed.670,090
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1

Which state pays carpenters the most?

Hawaii pays a median of $85,280, Oklahoma $46,910. That is a gap of $38,370 before either state's taxes or prices are counted.

  • Hawaii. See take-home and local prices in Hawaii →
  • The nominal figure is not the comparison. A higher salary in an expensive state can leave less than a lower one somewhere cheap. Each state page adjusts for tax and price level.

Common questions

Carpenter pay in the United States, answered

How much does a carpenter make?

The median wage for carpenters in the United States is $60,580 a year, or $29.12 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What do the highest-paid carpenters earn?

The top tenth earn $99,910 a year or more, against $40,410 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of the United States someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many carpenters are there in the United States?

The survey counted 670,090 of these jobs in the United States for May 2025.

It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from