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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Carpenters. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $40,410 | $19.43 |
| 25th | $48,510 | $23.32 |
| 50th · Median | $60,580 | $29.12 |
| 75th | $76,830 | $36.94 |
| 90th | $99,910 | $48.03 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (48)
Typical tasks
- Measure and mark cutting lines on materials, using a ruler, pencil, chalk, and marking gauge.
- Follow established safety rules and regulations and maintain a safe and clean environment.
- Shape or cut materials to specified measurements, using hand tools, machines, or power saws.
- Select and order lumber or other required materials.
- Install structures or fixtures, such as windows, frames, floorings, trim, or hardware, using carpenters' hand or power tools.
- Verify trueness of structure, using plumb bob and level.
Expand more tasks (23)
- Arrange for subcontractors to deal with special areas, such as heating or electrical wiring work.
- Build or repair cabinets, doors, frameworks, floors, or other wooden fixtures used in buildings, using woodworking machines, carpenter's hand tools, or power tools.
- Remove damaged or defective parts or sections of structures and repair or replace, using hand tools.
- Install rough door and window frames, subflooring, fixtures, or temporary supports in structures undergoing construction or repair.
- Erect scaffolding or ladders for assembling structures above ground level.
- Maintain job records and schedule work crew.
- Examine structural timbers and supports to detect decay, and replace timbers as required, using hand tools, nuts, and bolts.
- Fill cracks or other defects in plaster or plasterboard and sand patch, using patching plaster, trowel, and sanding tool.
- Dig or direct digging of post holes and set poles to support structures.
- Finish surfaces of woodwork or wallboard in houses or buildings, using paint, hand tools, or paneling.
- Cover subfloors with building paper to keep out moisture and lay hardwood, parquet, or wood-strip-block floors by nailing floors to subfloor or cementing them to mastic or asphalt base.
- Inspect ceiling or floor tile, wall coverings, siding, glass, or woodwork to detect broken or damaged structures.
- Prepare cost estimates for clients or employers.
- Maintain records, document actions, and present written progress reports.
- Bore boltholes in timber, masonry or concrete walls, using power drill.
- Study specifications in blueprints, sketches, or building plans to prepare project layout and determine dimensions and materials required.
- Assemble and fasten materials to make frameworks or props, using hand tools and wood screws, nails, dowel pins, or glue.
- Perform minor plumbing, welding, or concrete mixing work.
- Anchor and brace forms and other structures in place, using nails, bolts, anchor rods, steel cables, planks, wedges, and timbers.
- Work with or remove hazardous material.
- Build sleds from logs and timbers for use in hauling camp buildings and machinery through wooded areas.
- Construct forms or chutes for pouring concrete.
- Apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative paneling to ceilings or walls.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Expand more skills (29)
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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