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
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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
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
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