Carpenters Salary: $79,963 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 697,740 carpenters nationally earn a mean of $79,963. Much hiring sits in construction; about 62% of workers are women.
Key Statistics
Carpenters: what the data shows
Common questions about carpenters careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a carpenters?
Carpenters is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 47-2031.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 697,740 workers.
What does a carpenters do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Handling and Moving Objects, Performing General Physical Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a carpenters make?
BLS national median annual wage: $59,310 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $79,963 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $48,556 |
| 25th percentile | $59,602 |
| Median (50th) | $77,019 |
| 75th percentile | $98,163 |
| 90th percentile | $122,693 |
What education do you need?
For Carpenters, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Building and Construction, Administration and Management, Mathematics, Design. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is carpenters in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.0% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -0.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -0.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 697,740.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do carpenterss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 697,740 | 19.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 684,800 | 19.1% |
| Construction | 594,410 | 16.6% |
| Construction of Buildings | 330,530 | 9.2% |
| Specialty Trade Contractors | 236,860 | 6.6% |
| Residential Building Construction | 215,170 | 6.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Carpenters in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical and Electronics Repairers | 59,990 | $71,300 |
| HVAC Technicians | 396,870 | $59,810 |
| Plumbers | 33,580 | $48,710 |
| Electricians | 742,580 | $62,350 |
| Construction Managers | 348,330 | $106,980 |
| Database Administrators | 73,180 | $104,620 |
| Sales Managers | 603,710 | $138,060 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Carpenters workforce.
Employment Over Time
697,740 Workforce in 2023
The Carpenters workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Carpenters.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$79,963 Average Wage
In 2023, Carpenters earned an average of $79,963.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Carpenters.
Salary distribution for Carpenters.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
423,315 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -0.0%
423,190 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -0.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Carpenters.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Carpenters and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Carpenters employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Carpenters.
Wage Trends by Industry
5.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Carpenters.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Carpenters.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 106,500 employees, $77,680 avg wage
- NY: 44,500 employees, $73,190 avg wage
- FL: 44,130 employees, $50,200 avg wage
- TX: 34,400 employees, $49,320 avg wage
- PA: 29,900 employees, $62,660 avg wage
- WA: 26,340 employees, $77,630 avg wage
- IL: 24,930 employees, $77,940 avg wage
- MI: 21,550 employees, $61,620 avg wage
- MA: 19,100 employees, $77,360 avg wage
- VA: 18,340 employees, $53,280 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Carpenters.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 37,690 employees, $77,620 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 31,350 employees, $76,900 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 19,460 employees, $79,270 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: 15,460 employees, $73,420 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 15,210 employees, $82,690 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 14,480 employees, $59,780 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 14,360 employees, $86,200 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 13,430 employees, $67,850 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 13,030 employees, $79,870 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 12,250 employees, $63,880 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Carpenters.
Diversity
Demographic information on Carpenters in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Carpenters in 2023 was 697,740 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Carpenters.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Carpenters.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Carpenters.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Carpenters in 2023 were Carpentry, Construction Management, Technical Training.
Common majors for Carpenters.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Carpenters workers.
Education level distribution for Carpenters.
Skills
Carpenters need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Speaking.
Required skills for Carpenters.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Carpenters.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Carpenters include Building and Construction, Administration and Management, Mathematics, Design, Engineering and Technology.
Knowledge areas required for Carpenters.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Carpenters include Problem Sensitivity, Visualization, Near Vision, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity.
Required abilities for Carpenters.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Carpenters.
Daily Activities
Carpenters spend their time on activities such as Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Handling and Moving Objects.
Most important work activities for Carpenters.
About
Carpenters
The average yearly wage for Carpenters was $79,963 in 2023.
SOC Code
47-2031 - Carpenters
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Carpenters reports an average salary of $79,963.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 697,740 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.0%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.