Salaries / Carpenter
Skilled Trades · SOC 47-2031
Carpenter salary
Carpenters build and repair building frameworks and structures, from framing to finish work.
Median annual
$56,000
Median hourly
$26.90
Typical range
$37,000 to $98,000
Source: National estimate (to be replaced by live BLS data). Figures are gross pay and vary by location, employer, and experience.
The pay range, visually.
Low end (about the 10th percentile), median, and high end (about the 90th percentile).
By state
State figures are estimates derived from the national median and a state wage index, shown to give a rough sense of local differences.
Your skills are a business
Ideas we have for people in skilled trades.
The same experience that earns a paycheck as a carpenter can start a business. Here are real ideas from our marketplace that fit this field.
Start a Custom Carpentry and Renovation Business
Take on custom builds, trim work, and renovations directly for homeowners instead of earning a wage on someone else's jobs.
Start a Construction Company (Sub First, GC Later)
Build from one mastered trade or a legitimate handyman operation into a licensed contracting company with a crew, by learning bidding, licensing, and cash flow before chasing big jobs.
Start an Aging-in-Place Home Modification Business
Install grab bars, ramps, stair lifts, and bathroom conversions so seniors can stay in their homes, paid per project or through care partnerships.
Start a Skilled Trades Staffing Agency
Place electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs with contractors who are desperate for them, earning placement fees or hourly markups.
You could hire carpenters, not just be one.
We have a staffing calculator to price the work and a full course on how to start a staffing agency, so you can turn a field you already know into a business that puts other people to work.