Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

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; 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


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic 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)
578,910 0.8 % $21.31 $44,330 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $11.96 $15.01 $19.24 $26.23 $34.56
Annual Wage (2) $24,880 $31,230 $40,010 $54,560 $71,890


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Residential Building Construction 174,790 30.30 $19.86 $41,310
Nonresidential Building Construction 109,170 16.78 $23.23 $48,330
Building Finishing Contractors 88,110 13.97 $22.13 $46,030
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 60,870 8.98 $20.11 $41,820
Employment Services 15,540 0.53 $19.91 $41,420

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Residential Building Construction 174,790 30.30 $19.86 $41,310
Nonresidential Building Construction 109,170 16.78 $23.23 $48,330
Building Finishing Contractors 88,110 13.97 $22.13 $46,030
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 60,870 8.98 $20.11 $41,820
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 5,000 5.14 $22.01 $45,770

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Motion Picture and Video Industries 1,330 0.38 $32.33 $67,240
Investigation and Security Services 50 0.01 $29.51 $61,390
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 70 0.03 $28.97 $60,260
Scientific Research and Development Services 290 0.05 $27.96 $58,160
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (8) (8) $27.74 $57,710


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 56,480 4.02 0.89 $27.19 $56,550
New York 45,380 5.38 1.19 $26.07 $54,220
Pennsylvania 35,030 6.31 1.40 $20.37 $42,370
Texas 30,120 2.92 0.65 $15.82 $32,910
Florida 29,220 4.09 0.91 $17.54 $36,490




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 3,320 10.61 2.35 $29.98 $62,350
South Dakota 3,730 9.49 2.10 $15.15 $31,520
Vermont 2,750 9.46 2.10 $20.08 $41,770
Wyoming 2,530 9.28 2.06 $19.66 $40,890
Montana 3,780 8.89 1.97 $17.36 $36,120




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii 4,520 7.83 1.74 $32.19 $66,950
Alaska 3,320 10.61 2.35 $29.98 $62,350
California 56,480 4.02 0.89 $27.19 $56,550
Massachusetts 13,390 4.24 0.94 $26.91 $55,970
Nevada 7,000 6.29 1.39 $26.86 $55,880





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 22,360 4.42 0.98 $29.57 $61,500
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 16,260 4.54 1.01 $25.37 $52,780
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 10,790 5.94 1.32 $23.32 $48,510
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 9,710 4.20 0.93 $21.54 $44,810
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 9,630 7.96 1.76 $28.31 $58,890
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 9,530 2.49 0.55 $25.79 $53,650
St. Louis, MO-IL 8,670 6.83 1.51 $25.93 $53,930
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 8,550 6.24 1.38 $25.62 $53,280
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 8,490 3.33 0.74 $17.02 $35,400
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 8,040 4.73 1.05 $19.96 $41,520




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Fairbanks, AK 520 14.59 3.23 $34.26 $71,270
Rapid City, SD 740 12.63 2.80 $15.68 $32,620
Coeur d'Alene, ID 620 11.80 2.62 $17.23 $35,830
Lancaster, PA 2,550 11.53 2.56 $17.69 $36,800
Pascagoula, MS 570 10.51 2.33 $17.96 $37,350
Barnstable Town, MA 980 10.44 2.31 $25.65 $53,340
Lake Charles, LA 890 10.39 2.30 $17.07 $35,510
Casper, WY 390 9.96 2.21 $17.10 $35,560
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 410 9.95 2.20 $23.12 $48,090
Ocean City, NJ 360 9.91 2.20 $20.36 $42,350




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Fairbanks, AK 520 14.59 3.23 $34.26 $71,270
Honolulu, HI 3,220 7.56 1.67 $33.41 $69,490
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 4,690 4.88 1.08 $32.26 $67,100
Framingham, MA NECTA Division 740 4.78 1.06 $30.98 $64,440
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 340 4.06 0.90 $30.82 $64,110
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 4,570 4.80 1.06 $30.55 $63,550
Salinas, CA 640 4.22 0.94 $30.03 $62,470
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3,110 3.55 0.79 $29.61 $61,600
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 22,360 4.42 0.98 $29.57 $61,500
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 5,890 3.52 0.78 $29.24 $60,830

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
East Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 2,230 9.52 2.11 $15.58 $32,400
Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 2,120 11.49 2.55 $15.33 $31,890
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 1,720 9.18 2.03 $16.55 $34,420
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 1,510 8.50 1.88 $17.38 $36,150
Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area 1,450 7.86 1.74 $19.42 $40,380

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 360 25.88 5.73 $29.96 $62,320
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area 1,250 17.43 3.86 $24.19 $50,310
Garrett County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 170 16.05 3.56 $13.86 $28,820
Northwestern Washington nonmetropolitan area 640 13.34 2.96 $22.79 $47,410
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 930 12.93 2.87 $30.06 $62,530

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 50 1.92 0.42 $31.54 $65,610
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 930 12.93 2.87 $30.06 $62,530
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 360 25.88 5.73 $29.96 $62,320
Hawaii / Maui / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 1,310 8.61 1.91 $29.19 $60,720
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 100 7.06 1.56 $28.80 $59,900


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012