Carpenter Salary Guide for Employers (SOC 47-2031)

The Offer That Nearly Walked Out the Door

Your finish carpenter just handed in notice. You posted the position, got a handful of applicants, and made what felt like a solid offer — right about what you paid the last person in the role. The finalist countered. You weren't sure whether to hold or move, because honestly, you didn't know if the counter was fair or just bold. You split the difference, he accepted, and this time it worked out. Next time you might not be so lucky.

That gut-feel approach is exactly what this carpenter salary guide is designed to replace. By the time you finish reading, you'll know the national wage picture for carpenters (SOC 47-2031) by percentile, understand what drives the spread between a $39,000 framing rough-out and a $100,000 finish specialist, and have a working method for turning a percentile number into an offer-ready salary band — so the next counter doesn't catch you flat-footed.

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What the BLS Says Carpenters Earn Nationally (May 2024 OEWS)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments to produce the most comprehensive wage picture available for U.S. occupations. For SOC 47-2031 — Carpenters — the May 2024 release shows:

Percentile	Annual Wage
10th percentile	$39,430*
Median (50th percentile)	$59,310
90th percentile	~$99,930*

The 10th and 90th percentile figures above are drawn from the construction and extraction group benchmarks in the verified-data library; carpenter-specific inner and outer percentile figures should be confirmed directly at bls.gov/oes before use in an offer.

The median of $59,310 per year ($28.51/hr) is the authoritative anchor for a national carpenter offer (BLS, May 2024). That's the midpoint of the wage distribution — half of all carpenters in the U.S. earn less, half earn more. It tells you the market center; it doesn't tell you where your offer should land.

For the live, current figure, always verify at bls.gov/oes. Wage data updates annually; if the May 2025 OEWS release is live at the time you're reading this, that figure supersedes the May 2024 numbers above.

The industry context: The broader construction and extraction group carries a median of $58,360/yr (May 2024), compared with $49,500 across all occupations — so even at the median, a carpenter earns meaningfully more than the average U.S. worker. With roughly 959,000 carpenter jobs in 2024 and projected growth of +4% through 2034, generating approximately 74,100 annual openings (BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2024–34), demand is steady and the talent pool isn't growing fast enough to make your offer casual.

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Why the Spread Matters: Framing vs. Finish vs. Specialty Work

A $59,310 median covers a wide range of actual jobs. A framing carpenter on a residential crew does fundamentally different work from a finish carpenter installing custom millwork — and the market prices them accordingly.

ONET's occupational profile for SOC 47-2031 maps carpenters across Job Zone 3 — meaning the occupation typically requires medium preparation: one to two years of related work experience, some post-secondary education, and often a formal apprenticeship or vocational program. (Job Zone is ONET's five-level scale: 1 = little preparation, 5 = extensive preparation.) That baseline is consistent across the trade, but specialization within carpentry pushes wages toward the upper percentiles.

Key skills that O*NET identifies for carpenters include:

• Building and construction knowledge — materials, methods, tools, and the principles governing safe, code-compliant structures
• Mechanical aptitude — operating saws, nail guns, routers, and precision measuring instruments
• Reading blueprints and specifications — translating architectural drawings into framing, sheathing, or finish sequences
• Mathematics and measurement — layout, angles, and precise cuts where a 1/16″ error compounds across a room
• Physical stamina and coordination — sustained lifting, climbing, kneeling, and working in confined or elevated spaces

Core tasks listed in the O*NET profile include measuring and marking cutting lines; shaping materials to prescribed measurements; assembling and fastening materials; building frameworks including walls, floors, and doorframes; and inspecting installed carpentry against specifications and building codes.

When you look at the wage spread through this lens, the story becomes clear: a framing carpenter executing a standard stud-wall layout is performing a repeatable, trainable task. A finish carpenter who hand-fits custom crown moulding, installs pre-hung doors to a hair's-width gap, or matches existing millwork profiles is applying years of accumulated precision. The market pays for that precision — and your offer should reflect where the role actually sits on that spectrum, not just what the median says.

For a broader view of how specialty skills affect wages across similar trades, the skilled trades wage benchmarking guide walks through the comparison framework in detail.

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Geographic Reality: Your Local Market Is Not the National Median

The $59,310 national median is a starting point, not a local fact. Carpenter wages vary meaningfully by state and metro area — a journeyman in a high-cost coastal market may command significantly more than the national figure, while a rural inland market may price below it. Those local rates aren't in the library this article draws from, which means we won't manufacture a number.

Here's what to do instead:

1. Go to bls.gov/oes.
2. Use the "State" or "Metropolitan area" filter under the OEWS data explorer.
3. Select SOC 47-2031 and your geography.
4. Pull the median and the 25th/75th percentile for your specific labor market.

One important note: BLS suppresses estimates that don't meet publication standards — typically when estimated employment falls below roughly ten people in a cell. For rarer specialties or small metros, you may find the carpenter cell is suppressed at the metro level. In that case, use the state figure; if the state is also suppressed (very unlikely for a trade this large), use the national median with a documented note in your compensation file.

State and metro wage breakdowns are available in the trade wage data hub, which we update as new OEWS releases publish.

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Turning a Percentile Into an Offer-Ready Salary Band

A percentile anchor is not an offer — it's a reference point. An offer-ready salary band converts that anchor into a minimum, midpoint, and maximum that your hiring process can actually use. Here's how to build one.

Worked example — journeyman carpenter, national market:

This is a methodological illustration using the May 2024 BLS national median as the anchor. Adjust the anchor to your local OEWS figure before using in an actual offer.

1. Choose your anchor percentile. For a fully experienced journeyman filling a standard role, the 50th percentile (median) is the natural midpoint. Anchor: $59,310/yr.

2. Apply a spread buffer. A typical salary band for a skilled trade role uses a ±15–20% spread from the midpoint. At ±17.5%:

   • Band minimum: $59,310 × 0.825 = ≈ $48,930
   • Band midpoint: $59,310
   • Band maximum: $59,310 × 1.175 = ≈ $69,690

3. Pressure-test the band against the distribution. The band minimum ($48,930) should sit comfortably above the 10th percentile (≈$39,430 for the construction & extraction group) for a role requiring real experience — if it doesn't, widen the floor. The band maximum ($69,690) should leave room between itself and the top-of-market 90th percentile figure for the trade, preserving headroom for your highest performers.

4. Anchor differently for specialty roles. For a finish carpenter commanding premium precision skills, consider anchoring at the 75th percentile instead. Pull that figure from bls.gov/oes for your metro, run the same spread, and you'll have a band that can attract — and retain — the candidates you actually want.

The how to build a salary band for trades guide covers this methodology step by step, including how to document your band so it holds up to internal equity reviews.

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Carpenter Demand Outlook: Why Pricing Correctly Matters Now

Wage intelligence matters more in a tight labor market than a slack one. Here's the current picture:

• 959,000 carpenter jobs exist nationally as of 2024 (BLS, OOH 2024–34).
• +4% projected growth through 2034 generates approximately 74,100 annual openings — a combination of new jobs and replacement demand as experienced workers retire.
• Construction broadly needs an estimated 439,000 net new workers in 2025 and 349,000 in 2026 (Associated Builders and Contractors), with roughly 1.9 million workers needed over the next decade to keep pace with growth and retirements.
• Approximately 1 in 5 construction workers is already over age 55, meaning retirement-driven attrition is a compounding pressure — not a future concern but a current one.
• Private-industry wages and salaries rose +3.4% year-over-year as of March 2026 (Employment Cost Index, BLS) — which means your last year's offer is already slightly stale as a benchmark.

The cost of a mispriced offer isn't just a lost candidate. SHRM benchmarks place the cost of replacing a salaried employee at 50%–200% of annual salary (presented here as a modeled range based on published SHRM research — verify against your own cost inputs). At the carpenter median of $59,310, that's a modeled replacement cost of roughly $30,000–$119,000 if the hire doesn't work out or walks within the first year. An under-market offer that produces a quick departure is far more expensive than getting the band right the first time.

For how carpenter wages compare with adjacent trades, see the electrician salary guide (SOC 47-2111, median $62,350, May 2024) and the mason salary guide (masonry median $56,600, May 2024) — both from the same BLS OEWS release.

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Making Your Next Carpenter Offer With Confidence

A fair, defensible carpenter offer rests on three things: the right BLS percentile for your role and geography, a properly structured salary band, and an understanding of what the O*NET profile says about the skills you're actually buying. None of that requires a comp analyst on staff — it requires reliable access to the underlying data.

If you want the full picture for your next hire — percentile breakdown, salary band generator, and the complete O*NET occupational profile for SOC 47-2031 — the Skilled Trades Compensation Guide 2026 (PDF) puts it all in one reference you can pull out at the offer table.

Or if you're pricing offers across multiple trades and geographies on a regular basis, SkilledMarkets gives you the OEWS percentile lookup, O*NET profile integration, and salary-band generator in a single workflow — built specifically for trade contractors, starting at $199/mo. Try it free for 14 days and run your first carpenter band before the trial ends.

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This article includes information from ONET OnLine, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. ONET is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.