Average Hourly Wage of Carpenters, By State

carpenter

In our weekly quest to analyze each individual construction profession by state, we’ll examine carpentry.  The two previous professions we examined were general construction laborers, followed by heavy equipment operators.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

Wood is one of the world’s oldest building materials and, since the time it was first used as a building material, carpenters have existed.  Carpentry can range from fine woodworking and cabinet making to rough framing and anything in between.  It’s interesting to note that carpentry is one of America’s most male-dominated professions, accounting for 97.9% of all carpenters as recently as 2016.

All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016.

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Carpenter, by State

click for larger image

click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Carpenter, by State

51. Arkansas--  $16.74/hour

50. South Dakota--  $16.81/hour

49. North Carolina--  $17.10/hour

48. Mississippi--  $17.45/hour

47. Alabama--  $17.70/hour

46. Idaho--  $17.70/hour

45. Nebraska--  $17.71/hour

44. Tennessee--  $18.22/hour

43. Texas--  $18.27/hour

42. New Mexico--  $18.39/hour

41. Utah--  $18.66/hour

40. Louisiana--  $18.75/hour

39. Florida--  $18.84/hour

38. Oklahoma--  $19.00/hour

37. South Carolina--  $19.02/hour

36. Maine--  $19.03/hour

35. Montana--  $19.41/hour

34. Georgia--  $19.49/hour

33. Arizona--  $19.83/hour

32. North Dakota--  $20.05/hour

31. Kansas--  $20.11/hour

30. Virginia--  $20.20/hour

29. Iowa--  $20.26/hour

28. West Virginia--  $20.40/hour

27. Kentucky--  $20.59/hour

26. Indiana--  $20.81/hour

25. Colorado--  $20.95/hour

24. New Hampshire--  $21.47/hour

23. Vermont--  $21.48/hour

22. Michigan--  $21.80/hour

21. Ohio--  $22.20/hour

20. Delaware--  $22.23/hour

19. Wyoming--$22.60/hour

18. Oregon--  $22.91/hour

17. Pennsylvania--  $23.37/hour

16. Nevada--  $23.48/hour

15. Maryland--  $23.56/hour

14. Minnesota--  $23.73/hour

13. Wisconsin--  $24.08/hour

12. Rhode Island--  $24.16/hour

11. District of Columbia--  $24.43/hour

10. Missouri--  $25.34/hour

9. Connecticut--  $25.72/hour

8. California--  $26.82/hour

7. Washington--  $26.96/hour

6. Massachusetts--  $28.58/hour

5. New Jersey--  $29.03/hour

4. New York--  $29.76/hour

3. Illinois--  $29.99/hour

2. Hawaii--  $33.15/hour

1. Alaska--  $33.64/hour

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Carpenter - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state's adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state.  All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017.  The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state.

click for larger image

click for larger image

Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Carpenter - Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

51. Hawaii--  $11.14/hour

50. District of Columbia--  $11.38/hour

49. California--  $14.59/hour

48. Oregon--  $15.65/hour

47. Maine--  $16.80/hour

46. South Dakota--  $16.88/hour

45. Maryland--  $17.20/hour

44. North Carolina--  $18.02/hour

43. Rhode Island--  $18.77/hour

42. Arkansas--  $18.85/hour

41. New Hampshire--  $18.89/hour

40. Florida--  $19.12/hour

39. Nebraska--  $19.16/hour

38. Idaho--  $19.24/hour

37. Montana--  $19.27/hour

36. South Carolina--  $19.29/hour

35. Alabama--  $19.35/hour

34. New Mexico--  $19.48/hour

33. Utah--  $19.54/hour

32. Virginia--  $19.76/hour

31. Louisiana--  $19.76/hour

30. Massachusetts--  $19.86/hour

29. Mississippi--  $19.98/hour

28. Texas--  $19.99/hour

27. Tennessee--  $20.15/hour

26. North Dakota--  $20.27/hour

25. Colorado--  $20.34/hour

24. New York--  $20.36/hour

23. Arizona--  $20.52/hour

22. Vermont--  $20.86/hour

21. Oklahoma--  $20.94/hour

20. West Virginia--  $21.24/hour

19. Georgia--  $21.32/hour

18. Connecticut--  $21.48/hour

17. Delaware--  $21.74/hour

16. Iowa--  $21.90/hour

15. Kentucky--  $21.97/hour

14. Kansas--  $22.18/hour

13. Nevada--  $22.21/hour

12. New Jersey--  $22.50/hour

11. Indiana--  $22.72/hour

10. Pennsylvania--  $23.00/hour

9. Wyoming--$23.39/hour

8. Alaska--  $23.41/hour

7. Minnesota--  $23.78/hour

6. Ohio--  $23.91/hour

5. Michigan--  $23.91/hour

4. Wisconsin--  $24.71/hour

3. Washington--  $24.80/hour

2. Missouri--  $27.90/hour

1. Illinois--  $30.83/hour