Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

47-2031 Carpenters

Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall and batt or roll insulation. Include brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways to control the proper circulation of air through the passageways and to the working places.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
852,080 1.0 % $17.75 $36,920 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.04 $12.66 $16.47 $21.85 $28.00
Annual Wage (2) $20,890 $26,330 $34,250 $45,440 $58,240

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Residential building construction 257,840 $17.10 $35,560 1 83
Nonresidential building construction 140,590 $19.55 $40,660 2 37
Building foundation and exterior contractors 131,590 $17.50 $36,390 3 75
Building finishing contractors 115,350 $18.76 $39,030 4 52
Employment services 23,590 $15.15 $31,520 5 117

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Motion picture and video industries (6) $31.16 $64,810 (6) 1
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 400 $26.99 $56,140 58 2
Clothing stores 30 $26.88 $55,920 131 3
Power generation and supply 140 $25.46 $52,960 84 4
Outpatient care centers (6) $23.03 $47,900 (6) 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Nevada 13,950 $19.80 $41,180 1.310% 249
Alaska 3,530 $22.68 $47,170 1.208% 188
Montana 4,730 $15.22 $31,650 1.196% 280
Arizona 24,430 $15.79 $32,850 1.081% 327
Vermont 3,100 $15.43 $32,090 1.067% 260

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Hawaii 3,770 $23.79 $49,480 0.682% 137
Alaska 3,530 $22.68 $47,170 1.208% 188
New Jersey 21,570 $21.76 $45,270 0.557% 290
Illinois 40,670 $21.60 $44,940 0.705% 250
Massachusetts 19,960 $21.27 $44,240 0.629% 278

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 3,500 $22.19 $46,150 1.870%
Bremerton, WA PMSA 1,230 $16.84 $35,040 1.670%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA PMSA 16,660 $17.98 $37,400 1.521%
Alexandria, LA MSA 820 $13.64 $28,370 1.508%
Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 3,000 $20.19 $42,000 1.487%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Trenton, NJ PMSA 730 $26.51 $55,140 0.350%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 7,690 $25.63 $53,300 0.788%
Yolo, CA PMSA 710 $24.78 $51,550 0.806%
Honolulu, HI MSA 2,410 $24.24 $50,420 0.600%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA PMSA 930 $24.17 $50,280 1.024%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Construction and Extraction Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004