Trades · 70 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Carpenter (2025)

The median Carpenter salary is $89,200 in San Francisco, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, St. Louis, MO offers the best purchasing power at $78,878 adjusted.

The 70 cities below are ranked by median wage for Carpenter, drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating Carpenter relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$60,398

National Median

$89,200

Highest City

$46,810

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Francisco, CA	$89,200	$59,020, $132,760	179.6	$49,666	14,010
2	Chicago, IL	$80,440	$41,220, $118,450	107.3	$74,967	14,220
3	San Jose, CA	$80,190	$55,210, $133,860	195.8	$40,955	4,460
4	Seattle, WA	$76,410	$58,090, $123,750	149.4	$51,145	14,970
5	Los Angeles, CA	$75,740	$46,860, $117,430	166	$45,627	30,600
6	Boston, MA	$75,210	$48,820, $124,190	152.1	$49,448	12,720
7	Sacramento, CA	$74,440	$45,640, $114,760	124.7	$59,695	9,730
8	New York, NY	$74,300	$46,860, $123,810	187.2	$39,690	34,210
9	Minneapolis, MN	$74,060	$49,920, $100,830	106.2	$69,736	10,200
10	Portland, OR	$73,710	$47,440, $108,440	130.1	$56,656	9,210
11	San Diego, CA	$73,200	$47,310, $117,580	160.2	$45,693	8,710
12	Anchorage, AK	$72,800	$48,620, $149,320	127	$57,323	1,460
13	St. Louis, MO	$70,990	$45,000, $99,550	90	$78,878	7,210
14	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$70,880	$46,430, $111,960	122.4	$57,908	12,970
15	Bakersfield, CA	$66,540	$45,120, $104,810	100.6	$66,143	1,100
16	Columbus, OH	$66,480	$47,270, $82,630	93.1	$71,407	3,620
17	Detroit, MI	$65,810	$47,560, $82,790	95.1	$69,201	7,610
18	Indianapolis, IN	$65,070	$46,940, $88,570	90.1	$72,220	4,960
19	Denver, CO	$64,910	$48,160, $89,990	112.8	$57,544	7,250
20	Hartford, CT	$64,770	$48,940, $98,980	112.6	$57,522	1,660
21	Milwaukee, WI	$63,910	$47,230, $94,180	97.4	$65,616	3,310
22	Buffalo, NY	$63,500	$42,670, $83,360	92.5	$68,649	2,440
23	Madison, WI	$63,480	$46,670, $92,430	103.8	$61,156	2,320
24	Fresno, CA	$63,470	$45,510, $113,210	105.5	$60,161	1,790
25	Bridgeport, CT	$63,210	$48,690, $88,000	137.5	$45,971	1,100
26	Las Vegas, NV	$62,380	$41,430, $102,910	109	$57,229	9,310
27	Baltimore, MD	$62,380	$42,840, $85,470	114.2	$54,623	3,870
28	Reno, NV	$62,350	$44,920, $96,900	106.5	$58,545	2,750
29	Providence, RI	$61,910	$47,500, $100,710	119.4	$51,851	4,140
30	Spokane, WA	$61,900	$48,750, $87,730	97.4	$63,552	2,020
31	Kansas City, MO	$61,810	$44,950, $96,410	95.4	$64,790	4,540
32	Philadelphia, PA	$61,780	$45,690, $98,470	118.4	$52,179	14,260
33	Des Moines, IA	$61,360	$44,560, $76,670	93.3	$65,766	1,810
34	Pittsburgh, PA	$61,180	$43,940, $93,600	92.3	$66,284	5,920
35	Washington, DC	$60,800	$47,150, $90,590	152.8	$39,791	13,280
36	Albany, NY	$60,720	$48,260, $91,470	100.7	$60,298	2,000
37	Phoenix, AZ	$60,320	$39,820, $77,790	100.7	$59,901	12,710
38	Cincinnati, OH	$60,110	$44,180, $79,750	91.2	$65,910	4,610
39	Albuquerque, NM	$60,080	$41,600, $79,450	94	$63,915	1,940
40	Salt Lake City, UT	$59,870	$36,510, $75,540	101.4	$59,043	6,420
41	Rochester, NY	$59,490	$44,360, $82,670	92.9	$64,037	2,350
42	Colorado Springs, CO	$57,430	$43,090, $77,040	104.5	$54,957	1,220
43	Louisville, KY	$56,520	$38,980, $75,360	90.2	$62,661	2,990
44	Nashville, TN	$55,770	$40,120, $69,680	100.3	$55,603	3,040
45	Omaha, NE	$52,800	$40,420, $74,090	91.8	$57,516	3,230
46	Tampa, FL	$52,130	$37,180, $69,950	99.6	$52,339	6,010
47	Lexington, KY	$52,030	$37,660, $75,340	91.3	$56,988	1,200
48	Richmond, VA	$51,870	$37,990, $69,640	102.1	$50,803	3,070
49	Miami, FL	$51,570	$38,510, $72,540	123.1	$41,893	10,100
50	Charlotte, NC	$50,960	$38,240, $65,640	96.7	$52,699	3,730
51	Wichita, KS	$50,930	$37,980, $78,000	84	$60,631	1,210
52	Boise, ID	$50,850	$36,490, $76,550	102.1	$49,804	4,080
53	Raleigh, NC	$50,820	$33,350, $64,830	99.8	$50,922	2,680
54	Atlanta, GA	$50,680	$37,190, $63,210	99.2	$51,089	6,380
55	Memphis, TN	$50,620	$40,250, $64,780	84	$60,262	1,240
56	Jacksonville, FL	$50,540	$37,020, $72,400	95.1	$53,144	2,500
57	Birmingham, AL	$50,400	$37,480, $63,380	90.4	$55,752	1,660
58	Knoxville, TN	$50,400	$36,600, $70,100	90.3	$55,814	1,280
59	Austin, TX	$50,260	$39,600, $70,200	103	$48,796	2,540
60	New Orleans, LA	$50,130	$37,250, $73,040	95.9	$52,273	1,390
61	Greenville, SC	$50,090	$35,460, $76,110	90.1	$55,594	1,340
62	Greensboro, NC	$49,910	$36,160, $62,400	91.3	$54,666	760
63	Orlando, FL	$49,750	$36,560, $65,450	103.1	$48,254	5,360
64	Houston, TX	$49,670	$39,470, $68,500	96.5	$51,472	9,600
65	Tucson, AZ	$49,110	$37,660, $72,290	95.4	$51,478	1,380
66	Oklahoma City, OK	$48,940	$36,260, $74,880	86.5	$56,578	1,420
67	San Antonio, TX	$48,900	$37,440, $59,540	91.5	$53,443	2,240
68	Dallas, TX	$48,740	$36,440, $63,880	104.1	$46,820	9,480
69	Little Rock, AR	$48,050	$37,040, $63,030	88.2	$54,478	1,080
70	Tulsa, OK	$46,810	$37,770, $60,350	86.8	$53,929	1,320

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Carpenter paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	St. Louis, MO	$78,878	$70,990	90
2	Chicago, IL	$74,967	$80,440	107.3
3	Indianapolis, IN	$72,220	$65,070	90.1
4	Columbus, OH	$71,407	$66,480	93.1
5	Minneapolis, MN	$69,736	$74,060	106.2
6	Detroit, MI	$69,201	$65,810	95.1
7	Buffalo, NY	$68,649	$63,500	92.5
8	Pittsburgh, PA	$66,284	$61,180	92.3
9	Bakersfield, CA	$66,143	$66,540	100.6
10	Cincinnati, OH	$65,910	$60,110	91.2
11	Des Moines, IA	$65,766	$61,360	93.3
12	Milwaukee, WI	$65,616	$63,910	97.4
13	Kansas City, MO	$64,790	$61,810	95.4
14	Rochester, NY	$64,037	$59,490	92.9
15	Albuquerque, NM	$63,915	$60,080	94
16	Spokane, WA	$63,552	$61,900	97.4
17	Louisville, KY	$62,661	$56,520	90.2
18	Madison, WI	$61,156	$63,480	103.8
19	Wichita, KS	$60,631	$50,930	84
20	Albany, NY	$60,298	$60,720	100.7
21	Memphis, TN	$60,262	$50,620	84
22	Fresno, CA	$60,161	$63,470	105.5
23	Phoenix, AZ	$59,901	$60,320	100.7
24	Sacramento, CA	$59,695	$74,440	124.7
25	Salt Lake City, UT	$59,043	$59,870	101.4
26	Reno, NV	$58,545	$62,350	106.5
27	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$57,908	$70,880	122.4
28	Denver, CO	$57,544	$64,910	112.8
29	Hartford, CT	$57,522	$64,770	112.6
30	Omaha, NE	$57,516	$52,800	91.8
31	Anchorage, AK	$57,323	$72,800	127
32	Las Vegas, NV	$57,229	$62,380	109
33	Lexington, KY	$56,988	$52,030	91.3
34	Portland, OR	$56,656	$73,710	130.1
35	Oklahoma City, OK	$56,578	$48,940	86.5
36	Knoxville, TN	$55,814	$50,400	90.3
37	Birmingham, AL	$55,752	$50,400	90.4
38	Nashville, TN	$55,603	$55,770	100.3
39	Greenville, SC	$55,594	$50,090	90.1
40	Colorado Springs, CO	$54,957	$57,430	104.5
41	Greensboro, NC	$54,666	$49,910	91.3
42	Baltimore, MD	$54,623	$62,380	114.2
43	Little Rock, AR	$54,478	$48,050	88.2
44	Tulsa, OK	$53,929	$46,810	86.8
45	San Antonio, TX	$53,443	$48,900	91.5
46	Jacksonville, FL	$53,144	$50,540	95.1
47	Charlotte, NC	$52,699	$50,960	96.7
48	Tampa, FL	$52,339	$52,130	99.6
49	New Orleans, LA	$52,273	$50,130	95.9
50	Philadelphia, PA	$52,179	$61,780	118.4
51	Providence, RI	$51,851	$61,910	119.4
52	Tucson, AZ	$51,478	$49,110	95.4
53	Houston, TX	$51,472	$49,670	96.5
54	Seattle, WA	$51,145	$76,410	149.4
55	Atlanta, GA	$51,089	$50,680	99.2
56	Raleigh, NC	$50,922	$50,820	99.8
57	Richmond, VA	$50,803	$51,870	102.1
58	Boise, ID	$49,804	$50,850	102.1
59	San Francisco, CA	$49,666	$89,200	179.6
60	Boston, MA	$49,448	$75,210	152.1
61	Austin, TX	$48,796	$50,260	103
62	Orlando, FL	$48,254	$49,750	103.1
63	Dallas, TX	$46,820	$48,740	104.1
64	Bridgeport, CT	$45,971	$63,210	137.5
65	San Diego, CA	$45,693	$73,200	160.2
66	Los Angeles, CA	$45,627	$75,740	166
67	Miami, FL	$41,893	$51,570	123.1
68	San Jose, CA	$40,955	$80,190	195.8
69	Washington, DC	$39,791	$60,800	152.8
70	New York, NY	$39,690	$74,300	187.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco, CA pays the highest median Carpenter salary at $89,200. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, St. Louis, MO offers the most purchasing power at $78,878 adjusted.

The national median Carpenter salary is $60,398 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $46,810 to $89,200 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above, cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.