Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| North Carolina | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $49,100 | $62,569 | -22% |
| Median hourly wage | $23.61 | $30.08 | -22% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $52,068.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City-level data coming soon. | ||||
The median annual salary for a Carpenter in North Carolina is $49,100, or about $23.61 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Carpenters is $62,569. North Carolina is -22% below the national median.
Entry-level carpenters in North Carolina typically earn from varies by experience depending on the city and employer.
With 13,480 carpenter jobs on record and a median salary of $49,100, North Carolina offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, carpenters rank 446 of the 745 occupations reported in North Carolina — higher than 40% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers at $107,700, Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters at $85,630, First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers at $75,270 — all figures are median annual wages for North Carolina.
No. Every figure on this page is a gross (pre-tax) wage. North Carolina levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 95.0 (100 = national average).
By median annual wage, carpenters rank 446 of the 745 occupations reported in North Carolina — higher than 40% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in North Carolina | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers | $107,700 | $240 |
| Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters | $85,630 | $160 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | $75,270 | $32,460 |
| Construction and Building Inspectors | $66,080 | $6,490 |
| Continuous Mining Machine Operators | $59,030 | $230 |
| Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining | $58,620 | — |
North Carolina levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 95.0 (100 = national average).
Ranking and comparison figures come from the same BLS OEWS release as the rest of this page, which covers 745 occupations in North Carolina.