Salaries

Carpenter Salary.

Across 81 U.S. cities.

$59,000

estimated national base salary

$48,000 to $76,000. Last updated September 2026.

Orbyt prices 2 titles at this same figure: Carpenter and Heavy Equipment Operator. Orbyt does not hold title-level wage data that would separate them.

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Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $60,580 for Carpenters (SOC 47-2031) across the United States, based on 670,090 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$40,410

25th percentile

$48,510

Median

$60,580

75th percentile

$76,830

90th percentile

$99,910

Workers surveyed

670,090

What BLS published in each release

May 2024 release

$59,310

May 2025 release

$60,580

These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Carpenters (SOC 47-2031) rather than Carpenter specifically. The national range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.

View the BLS source for SOC 47-2031

Highest Paying

$81,000

San Jose, CA

Best Purchasing Power

$62,000

Honolulu, HI

Lowest Paying

$46,000

Charleston, WV

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 47-2031. Full methodology.

Orbyt estimates the average Carpenter salary in the United States at $59,000 in 2026, within a range of $48,000 to $76,000. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page. This figure is not specific to this title: Orbyt prices 2 titles at the same estimate. San Jose is the highest of the 81 cities at $81,000, while Honolulu offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Finish carpenters specializing in custom cabinetry, trim, and millwork earn 15 to 25% more than rough framing carpenters.

Carpenter salary by city.

Salary comparison across 81 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjustedRank
San Jose, CA$81,000$66,000 to $104,0001.38x$59,000#3400 of 3445
San Francisco, CA$80,000$65,000 to $104,0001.35x$59,000#3402 of 3445
Honolulu, HI$80,000$65,000 to $103,0001.30x$62,000#3389 of 3445
New York, NY$76,000$61,000 to $97,0001.28x$59,000#3394 of 3445
Washington DC, DC$76,000$62,000 to $98,0001.25x$61,000#3387 of 3445
Seattle, WA$75,000$61,000 to $96,0001.24x$60,000#3391 of 3445
Arlington, VA$73,000$60,000 to $95,0001.22x$60,000#3393 of 3445
Jersey City, NJ$73,000$59,000 to $94,0001.20x$61,000#3391 of 3445
Los Angeles, CA$72,000$58,000 to $92,0001.18x$61,000#3389 of 3445
San Diego, CA$71,000$58,000 to $92,0001.17x$61,000#3389 of 3445
Newark, NJ$70,000$57,000 to $91,0001.18x$59,000#3402 of 3445
Boston, MA$69,000$56,000 to $89,0001.22x$57,000#3411 of 3445
Miami, FL$69,000$56,000 to $89,0001.12x$62,000#3380 of 3445
Boulder, CO$69,000$56,000 to $88,0001.15x$60,000#3392 of 3445
Anchorage, AK$67,000$55,000 to $87,0001.13x$59,000#3402 of 3445
Princeton, NJ$67,000$55,000 to $87,0001.15x$58,000#3407 of 3445
Sacramento, CA$67,000$54,000 to $86,0001.10x$61,000#3388 of 3445
Hartford, CT$66,000$53,000 to $85,0001.08x$61,000#3386 of 3445
Baltimore, MD$66,000$54,000 to $85,0001.08x$61,000#3387 of 3445
Chicago, IL$64,000$52,000 to $83,0001.07x$60,000#3397 of 3445
Portland, OR$64,000$52,000 to $82,0001.10x$58,000#3403 of 3445
Austin, TX$63,000$51,000 to $81,0001.03x$61,000#3386 of 3445
Philadelphia, PA$63,000$51,000 to $81,0001.09x$58,000#3402 of 3445
Wilmington, DE$63,000$51,000 to $81,0001.02x$62,000#3383 of 3445
Ann Arbor, MI$63,000$51,000 to $81,0001.02x$62,000#3388 of 3445
Denver, CO$62,000$50,000 to $80,0001.08x$57,000#3407 of 3445
Atlanta, GA$61,000$50,000 to $79,0001.02x$60,000#3397 of 3445
Portland, ME$61,000$49,000 to $78,0001.05x$58,000#3401 of 3445
Manchester, NH$61,000$49,000 to $78,0001.06x$58,000#3406 of 3445
Richmond, VA$61,000$49,000 to $78,0001.01x$60,000#3395 of 3445
Burlington, VT$61,000$50,000 to $79,0001.06x$58,000#3406 of 3445
Minneapolis, MN$60,000$49,000 to $77,0001.05x$57,000#3408 of 3445
Nashville, TN$60,000$48,000 to $77,0001.00x$60,000#3394 of 3445
Salt Lake City, UT$60,000$49,000 to $77,0000.98x$61,000#3391 of 3445
Providence, RI$60,000$48,000 to $77,0001.04x$58,000#3406 of 3445
Virginia Beach, VA$59,000$48,000 to $76,0000.98x$60,000#3397 of 3445
Houston, TX$58,000$47,000 to $75,0000.97x$60,000#3397 of 3445
Albany, NY$58,000$47,000 to $74,0000.96x$60,000#3390 of 3445
Dallas, TX$57,000$47,000 to $74,0001.01x$56,000#3411 of 3445
Charlotte, NC$57,000$46,000 to $73,0000.97x$59,000#3406 of 3445
Raleigh, NC$57,000$47,000 to $74,0000.99x$58,000#3407 of 3445
Columbus, OH$57,000$46,000 to $74,0000.93x$61,000#3384 of 3445
Tampa, FL$57,000$47,000 to $74,0000.96x$59,000#3399 of 3445
Columbus, OH$57,000$46,000 to $74,0000.93x$61,000#3388 of 3445
Boise, ID$56,000$46,000 to $72,0000.95x$59,000#3404 of 3445
Las Vegas, NV$56,000$45,000 to $72,0000.96x$58,000#3407 of 3445
Charleston, SC$56,000$46,000 to $72,0000.98x$57,000#3407 of 3445
Phoenix, AZ$55,000$45,000 to $71,0000.96x$57,000#3408 of 3445
Cincinnati, OH$55,000$45,000 to $71,0000.90x$61,000#3388 of 3445
Orlando, FL$55,000$45,000 to $71,0000.95x$58,000#3405 of 3445
Madison, WI$55,000$45,000 to $71,0000.95x$58,000#3406 of 3445
Reno, NV$55,000$45,000 to $71,0000.96x$57,000#3405 of 3445
Detroit, MI$54,000$44,000 to $70,0000.90x$60,000#3396 of 3445
Indianapolis, IN$54,000$44,000 to $70,0000.91x$59,000#3395 of 3445
North Charleston, SC$54,000$44,000 to $70,0000.94x$57,000#3408 of 3445
Kansas City, MO$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.93x$57,000#3406 of 3445
Louisville, KY$53,000$44,000 to $69,0000.88x$60,000#3392 of 3445
New Orleans, LA$53,000$43,000 to $69,0000.92x$58,000#3406 of 3445
San Antonio, TX$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.91x$58,000#3403 of 3445
Columbia, SC$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.90x$59,000#3402 of 3445
Knoxville, TN$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.89x$60,000#3399 of 3445
Spokane, WA$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.92x$58,000#3408 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$53,000$43,000 to $68,0000.86x$62,000#3383 of 3445
Pittsburgh, PA$52,000$42,000 to $67,0000.92x$57,000#3411 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$52,000$42,000 to $67,0000.86x$60,000#3389 of 3445
Milwaukee, WI$52,000$42,000 to $66,0000.91x$57,000#3410 of 3445
Cheyenne, WY$52,000$43,000 to $67,0000.87x$60,000#3398 of 3445
Lexington, KY$52,000$43,000 to $67,0000.86x$60,000#3392 of 3445
St. Louis, MO$51,000$41,000 to $66,0000.90x$57,000#3408 of 3445
Oklahoma City, OK$51,000$41,000 to $65,0000.84x$61,000#3394 of 3445
Baton Rouge, LA$51,000$41,000 to $66,0000.88x$58,000#3403 of 3445
Omaha, NE$50,000$41,000 to $65,0000.88x$57,000#3406 of 3445
Albuquerque, NM$50,000$41,000 to $64,0000.88x$57,000#3407 of 3445
Birmingham, AL$49,000$40,000 to $63,0000.84x$58,000#3401 of 3445
Little Rock, AR$49,000$40,000 to $64,0000.82x$60,000#3394 of 3445
Fargo, ND$49,000$40,000 to $63,0000.85x$58,000#3404 of 3445
Wichita, KS$48,000$39,000 to $62,0000.82x$59,000#3400 of 3445
Jackson, MS$48,000$39,000 to $62,0000.79x$61,000#3389 of 3445
Sioux Falls, SD$48,000$39,000 to $62,0000.85x$56,000#3407 of 3445
Tulsa, OK$47,000$38,000 to $61,0000.83x$57,000#3408 of 3445
Charleston, WV$46,000$38,000 to $60,0000.78x$59,000#3396 of 3445

Skills that increase Carpenter pay.

The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for Carpenters, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $8,260 a year.

LLM Fine-Tuning+14%

≈ +$8,260 per year

Reinforcement Learning+13%

≈ +$7,670 per year

CUDA+12%

≈ +$7,080 per year

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)+11%

≈ +$6,490 per year

Kubernetes+11%

≈ +$6,490 per year

Transformers+10%

≈ +$5,900 per year

Rust+10%

≈ +$5,900 per year

PyTorch+9%

≈ +$5,310 per year

What you should know.

Finish carpenters specializing in custom cabinetry, trim, and millwork earn 15 to 25% more than rough framing carpenters. Union membership in metropolitan areas provides the strongest hourly rate floors. Carpenters with concrete formwork expertise for commercial high-rise projects command premium rates due to the physical demands and precision required.

Carpenter apprentices start at $30,000 to $36,000 during their three to four year training period. Journeyman carpenters earn $42,000 to $58,000, while foremen and lead carpenters reach $60,000 to $78,000. General contractors with carpentry backgrounds often earn $85,000 to $130,000 running their own operations.

Union carpenters receive benefits packages worth $12,000 to $20,000 annually including health insurance, pension, and training funds. Overtime on commercial projects adds $5,000 to $12,000 per year, with prevailing wage jobs offering the best hourly rates.

Total compensation breakdown.

Base Salary
$59,000
Equity / Year
$6,000
Annual Bonus
5%
$3,000
Total Comp
$68,000

Salary by company size

Startup
< 50 employees
$50,000
Growth
50-500 employees
$55,000
Scale-up
500-5K employees
$59,000
Public
5K+ employees
$70,000

Remote salary adjustment

Remote Carpenters typically earn $53,000 (10% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.

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Related.

Common questions about Carpenter pay.

Orbyt estimates the national median Carpenter salary at $59,000 in 2026, within a range of $48,000 to $76,000. This is a computed estimate, not a measured wage. Where you land depends on your experience, skills, the company's size, and your location.

Entry level Carpenters (0 to 2 years) typically earn $38,000 to $47,000. Mid level (3 to 5 years) run $50,000 to $62,000. Senior (6 to 9 years) reach $65,000 to $77,000, and lead level (10 plus years) $74,000 to $91,000.

Carpenter apprentices start at $30,000 to $36,000 during their three to four year training period. Journeyman carpenters earn $42,000 to $58,000, while foremen and lead carpenters reach $60,000 to $78,000. General contractors with carpentry backgrounds often earn $85,000 to $130,000 running their own operations.

Finish carpenters specializing in custom cabinetry, trim, and millwork earn 15 to 25% more than rough framing carpenters. Union membership in metropolitan areas provides the strongest hourly rate floors. Carpenters with concrete formwork expertise for commercial high-rise projects command premium rates due to the physical demands and precision required.

Anchor your ask near the top of the range at $76,000 so you have room to settle around the $59,000 median. Bring specific data about your impact, and never accept the first number without a conversation.

Entry level Carpenter roles start around $38,000 to $47,000. Candidates with strong internships, certifications, or portfolio work often negotiate toward the national median of $59,000.

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