Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
47-2031 Carpenters
Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood and comparable materials, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; and wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall, and batt or roll insulation. Includes brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways.
National estimates for Carpenters
Industry profile for Carpenters
Geographic profile for Carpenters
National estimates for Carpenters:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Carpenters:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 699,300 |
0.9 % |
$ 26.06 |
$ 54,200 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Carpenters:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 15.00 |
$ 18.38 |
$ 23.81 |
$ 31.00 |
$ 42.02 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 31,200 |
$ 38,240 |
$ 49,520 |
$ 64,480 |
$ 87,410 |
Industry profile for Carpenters:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Carpenters are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Carpenters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Carpenters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Residential Building Construction |
206,010 |
25.78 |
$ 24.50 |
$ 50,960 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction |
122,380 |
15.15 |
$ 28.54 |
$ 59,370 |
| Building Finishing Contractors |
116,530 |
14.49 |
$ 26.80 |
$ 55,750 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
94,740 |
10.25 |
$ 25.82 |
$ 53,700 |
| Employment Services |
16,860 |
0.53 |
$ 23.58 |
$ 49,050 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Carpenters:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Residential Building Construction |
206,010 |
25.78 |
$ 24.50 |
$ 50,960 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction |
122,380 |
15.15 |
$ 28.54 |
$ 59,370 |
| Building Finishing Contractors |
116,530 |
14.49 |
$ 26.80 |
$ 55,750 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
94,740 |
10.25 |
$ 25.82 |
$ 53,700 |
| Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction |
7,070 |
5.87 |
$ 27.80 |
$ 57,830 |
Top paying industries for Carpenters:
Geographic profile for Carpenters:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Carpenters are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Carpenters, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Carpenters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
103,640 |
6.31 |
1.25 |
$ 31.22 |
$ 64,930 |
| Florida |
44,880 |
5.32 |
1.06 |
$ 20.23 |
$ 42,070 |
| New York |
44,620 |
5.13 |
1.02 |
$ 32.27 |
$ 67,120 |
| Texas |
38,270 |
3.16 |
0.63 |
$ 20.28 |
$ 42,180 |
| Pennsylvania |
28,630 |
5.19 |
1.03 |
$ 26.62 |
$ 55,370 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Carpenters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Idaho |
8,990 |
12.51 |
2.49 |
$ 19.78 |
$ 41,140 |
| Hawaii |
6,150 |
10.71 |
2.13 |
$ 38.85 |
$ 80,810 |
| Montana |
4,730 |
10.38 |
2.06 |
$ 22.39 |
$ 46,580 |
| Nevada |
12,670 |
10.13 |
2.01 |
$ 28.06 |
$ 58,360 |
| South Dakota |
3,970 |
9.64 |
1.92 |
$ 18.31 |
$ 38,090 |
Top paying states for Carpenters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
6,150 |
10.71 |
2.13 |
$ 38.85 |
$ 80,810 |
| Illinois |
26,300 |
4.67 |
0.93 |
$ 33.41 |
$ 69,490 |
| New York |
44,620 |
5.13 |
1.02 |
$ 32.27 |
$ 67,120 |
| Alaska |
2,010 |
6.77 |
1.35 |
$ 31.75 |
$ 66,040 |
| New Jersey |
13,930 |
3.68 |
0.73 |
$ 31.49 |
$ 65,500 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Carpenters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
41,500 |
4.70 |
0.93 |
$ 34.16 |
$ 71,050 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
26,260 |
4.51 |
0.90 |
$ 32.37 |
$ 67,330 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
20,140 |
4.62 |
0.92 |
$ 34.74 |
$ 72,270 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,600 |
7.12 |
1.42 |
$ 36.44 |
$ 75,800 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
15,110 |
7.72 |
1.54 |
$ 33.25 |
$ 69,160 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
14,450 |
9.70 |
1.93 |
$ 26.58 |
$ 55,280 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
14,200 |
4.70 |
0.93 |
$ 24.98 |
$ 51,950 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
12,370 |
4.93 |
0.98 |
$ 20.93 |
$ 43,540 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
12,330 |
4.57 |
0.91 |
$ 30.86 |
$ 64,190 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
11,900 |
5.65 |
1.12 |
$ 23.50 |
$ 48,890 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Carpenters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID |
1,150 |
18.98 |
3.78 |
$ 21.47 |
$ 44,660 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
2,950 |
15.21 |
3.03 |
$ 35.33 |
$ 73,480 |
| Boise City, ID |
4,610 |
13.82 |
2.75 |
$ 18.39 |
$ 38,250 |
| Yuba City, CA |
610 |
13.73 |
2.73 |
$ 25.62 |
$ 53,290 |
| Reno, NV |
3,090 |
13.69 |
2.72 |
$ 25.23 |
$ 52,470 |
| Rapid City, SD |
870 |
13.69 |
2.72 |
$ 18.54 |
$ 38,560 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
1,350 |
13.23 |
2.63 |
$ 26.22 |
$ 54,540 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
1,190 |
12.82 |
2.55 |
$ 27.90 |
$ 58,040 |
| St. George, UT |
860 |
12.47 |
2.48 |
$ 19.36 |
$ 40,260 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
820 |
12.21 |
2.43 |
$ 34.41 |
$ 71,570 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Carpenters:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
4,450 |
10.73 |
2.13 |
$ 39.88 |
$ 82,950 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
1,180 |
8.91 |
1.77 |
$ 39.57 |
$ 82,300 |
| Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
70 |
1.59 |
0.32 |
$ 38.40 |
$ 79,870 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ |
580 |
5.26 |
1.05 |
$ 37.64 |
$ 78,300 |
| Salinas, CA |
1,200 |
7.01 |
1.39 |
$ 37.26 |
$ 77,490 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,600 |
7.12 |
1.42 |
$ 36.44 |
$ 75,800 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
700 |
6.46 |
1.29 |
$ 36.00 |
$ 74,880 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
2,950 |
15.21 |
3.03 |
$ 35.33 |
$ 73,480 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
20,140 |
4.62 |
0.92 |
$ 34.74 |
$ 72,270 |
| Napa, CA |
830 |
11.94 |
2.38 |
$ 34.60 |
$ 71,960 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Carpenters:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area |
1,880 |
10.28 |
2.05 |
$ 21.61 |
$ 44,960 |
| Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area |
1,830 |
13.49 |
2.68 |
$ 23.13 |
$ 48,100 |
| North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) |
1,530 |
4.91 |
0.98 |
$ 21.64 |
$ 45,020 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area |
1,420 |
12.39 |
2.46 |
$ 24.81 |
$ 51,600 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
1,410 |
3.74 |
0.74 |
$ 18.73 |
$ 38,950 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Carpenters:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Carpenters:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
