The Best-Paying American Cities for Carpenters

Note: This is the most recent release of our Best-Paying American Cities for Carpenters study. To see data from prior years, please visit the Full Results section below.

The construction and real estate industries are undergoing significant shifts in 2024. While the residential sector experienced a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, new home construction has now declined from its 2022 peak. In contrast, public sector construction has seen steady growth, fueled by major legislative efforts like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

For carpenters and other skilled trade workers, this evolving landscape can influence job opportunities and wages, with some cities offering more lucrative prospects than others.

Price Trends for Wood & Lumber Products

Lumber prices have stabilized after record increases during the COVID-19 pandemic

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FOR CARPENTERS

It’s important for carpenters to be covered by a contractors general liability policy as well as tools and equipment insurance to protect against liability and theft.

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Despite strong overall demand, the construction industry continues to contend with high material costs and labor shortages. Lumber prices, which surged during the pandemic, have stabilized but remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. The shortage of skilled workers, particularly carpenters, persists, with over 60% of builders reporting shortages according to the National Association of Home Builders. To attract and retain workers, many employers are raising wages, providing a favorable outlook for carpenters.

Regional Differences in Carpenter Wages

Hawaii boasts the highest wages for carpenters

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FOR CARPENTERS

Construction takeoff is the process of counting and measuring the materials and labor required for a construction project. See our construction takeoff guide for more information.

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Carpenters already make good wages compared to other professions with similar educational requirements. The median annual wage for carpenters in 2023 was $56,350 (up nearly 10% year-over-year). This exceeds the median not only for other construction trades ($52,000) but also for all occupations ($48,060). With employers feeling the pressure to raise wages and keep up with demand for construction, the occupation’s position could improve even further.

As with other professions, carpenters command significantly better pay in certain locations than in others. Hawaii offers carpenters a cost-of-living adjusted median annual wage of $74,017—nearly $6,500 higher than the next state, 31% higher than the national median, and the only state with an adjusted wage above $70,000. Hawaii has the highest union membership rate of any state and also has strong prevailing wage laws. Other top states include Illinois ($67,551) and Washington ($65,645), both of which have a strong union presence and high state minimum wages. Overall, the Midwest and West Coast regions generally offer the highest wages for carpenters after adjusting for cost of living.

Unsurprisingly, at the metro level, several locations in these regions are also among the best-paying for carpenters. Among major metropolitan areas with populations of one million or more, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco rank as the top three best-paying locations for carpenters.

Below is a breakdown of carpenter wages for nearly 400 U.S. metropolitan areas and all 50 states. The analysis was conducted by Construction Coverage, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information, see the methodology section below.

Best-Paying Large Cities for Carpenters

Best-Paying States for Carpenters

*Median annual wage for carpenters (adjusted)

Full Results: Carpenter Wages by Metro & State

Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 2022 Regional Price Parities dataset. To determine the best-paying locations for carpenters, researchers calculated the median annual earnings for carpenters, adjusted for cost-of-living differences. To improve relevance, metropolitan areas were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (less than 350,000), midsize (350,000-999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more).

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2024, June 20). New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST.
2. U.S. Census Bureau. (2024, July 1). Total Public Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLPBLCONS.
3. Emrath, Paul. National Association of Home Builders. (2024, February 23). Labor Shortages Ease, But Remain Worse Than in the Last Boom. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://eyeonhousing.org/2024/02/labor-shortages-ease-but-remain-worse-than-in-the-last-boom/.
4. Jones, Jonathan. Construction Coverage. (2024, June 29). The Most Unionized Cities in America. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://constructioncoverage.com/research/most-unionized-cities-in-america.
5. U.S. Department of Labor. (2024, July 1). State Minimum Wage Laws. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state.
6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics [Data set]. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
7. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2023, December 14). Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area [Data set]. Retrieved on July 3, 2024 from https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area.