25 of the Highest Paying Carpentry Jobs in 2026

The best Carpentry jobs can pay up to $85,500 per year.

High Paying Carpentry Jobs

• Millwork Project Manager

  Salary range: $67,000 - $85,500

  The majority of Millwork Project Manager salaries across the United States currently range between $67,000 (25th percentile) and $85,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Millwork Project Manager job market in the United States is somewhat active, with a few companies hiring.

• Carpenter Foreman

  Salary range: $55,000 - $69,000

  In the construction industry, a carpenter foreman supervises the work of other carpenters. The carpenter foreman coordinates carpentry projects, gathers construction materials, and procures equipment for projects. The carpenter foreman also oversees carpentry training, ensuring that all carpenters on the project fulfill training requirements. Projects may vary, so the carpenter foreman must be prepared to supervise a range of duties, including wood framing, millwork assembly, rough carpentry, and finish carpentry. In addition, the carpenter foreman is responsible for enforcing industry standards and safety practices, delivering projects on time, overseeing the use of equipment, and interpreting building blueprints.

• Journeyman Carpenter

  Salary range: $52,500 - $68,500

  A journeyman carpenter is a professional carpenter who works in residential and commercial construction. As a carpenter, your responsibilities can include new home construction, business or residential remodeling, and even road work. You read blueprints and building codes, observe OSHA standards, fabricate wood framework, cabinets, and other products, and install them in buildings. Your duties may also involve installing drywall and siding. You can work for a company with a team of professionals at a construction site, or you can work as an independent business owner and take contract jobs.

• Master Carpenter

  Salary range: $49,500 - $66,500

  A master carpenter is a construction expert with years of work experience as a carpenter. As a master carpenter, your job duties include performing a wide range of construction work, overseeing journeymen carpenters and assistants, and ensuring that your crews follow all rules and health and safety regulations on the job site. The career requires strong leadership, analytical problem-solving, and communication skills.

• Residential Carpenter

  Salary range: $44,500 - $65,000

  As a residential carpenter, your primary duties are to perform carpentry work for a construction or repair job on a residential building or complex. Your responsibilities are to review architectural plans, work with other carpenters to install materials (such as flooring, cabinets, trims, and built-ins) or build the framing for the project, and ensure the client and project manager are satisfied with the carpentry. If you work for a larger contractor, you may not need to interact closely with the client. For independent carpenters, you may work closely with clients when called in for a remodel or when designing and building additions.

• Finish Carpenter

  Salary range: $48,500 - $63,500

  A Finish Carpenter, also known as a Trim Carpenter, works on the final stages of carpentry projects. As a Finish Carpenter, your job may include adding the crown and baseboard molding to a room, installing stair railings, and creating window and doorway frames. These details give a home or office a finished, completed look.

• Form Setter

  Salary range: $48,500 - $60,500

  A form setter, also known as a concrete finisher, erects and sets forms for concrete structures, such as sidewalks, walls, and various buildings. As a form setter, your job duties include following blueprints or designs, pouring concrete, and then leveling the concrete to the proper specifications while adjusting for elevation change or depth. Some projects require the use of power tools while others require doing the work by hand. In any case, you must always follow safety policies and understand quality control procedures. Qualifications for this career include the ability to use specialized equipment, relevant carpentry skills, physical stamina, and a few years of experience.

• Rough Carpenter

  Salary range: $42,500 - $59,500

  Rough carpenters build the framework of structures. As a rough carpenter, you’re responsible for using a variety of hand and power tools to begin the construction of buildings. Your job duties also include studying blueprints and ensuring that structures are built correctly on a foundational level. Prior experience is a must for this job, which you can earn through an apprenticeship or a carpentry job. Beyond that, the qualifications for beginning this career aren’t extensive. Some employers prefer you to have a carpentry certificate, but you won’t need post-secondary education. The required skills, such as attention to detail and the ability to follow instructions carefully, can be picked up on a previous job or as part of your certificate.

• Carpenter

  Salary range: $43,500 - $59,000

  Carpenters fabricate, remodel, and repair structures and frameworks using wood and other materials. They may build decks, porches, cabinets, and lay floors. They may also install drywall, windows, molding, build footings, rafters, and doorways. Carpenters measure and cut wood and other materials utilizing a variety of hand and power tools, shaping and assembling the materials for structural use. There are a number of different types of Carpenters, including Commercial Carpenters, Industrial Carpenters, and Residential Carpenters. Some Carpenters have specialized occupations, such as building wooden ships or constructing film sets.

• Construction Carpenter

  Salary range: $39,500 - $59,000

  As a construction carpenter, your job is to build or repair the framing for new build and existing structures. In this role, you follow a construction plan to build each section of a frame, reinforce specific areas like doors and stairs, and verify the quality of all materials before using them. Carpenters who work in construction almost always work in teams, especially on larger projects, so the ability to coordinate with others and make sure you build each part of the structure as designed is essential to your success in this field. Most carpenters work regular hours, but employers may occasionally ask you to work overtime to fix any problems before starting the next day of work.

• Maintenance Carpenter

  Salary range: $40,000 - $58,500

  The majority of Maintenance Carpenter salaries across the United States currently range between $40,000 (25th percentile) and $58,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Maintenance Carpenter job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Framing Carpenter

  Salary range: $43,500 - $58,000

  A framing carpenter builds structures made from wood, such as a new home. As a framing carpenter, your duties can include working on remodeling or repair projects. You may erect supports for interior walls, build staircases, and make the wood components for home additions. Some professional carpenters work on exterior structures such as decks, platforms, and walkways. Other responsibilities of a framing carpenter include project planning, estimating materials and labor costs, and obtaining necessary permits for each project.

• Commercial Carpenter

  Salary range: $45,000 - $56,000

  As a commercial carpenter, your job is to create structures out of wood. You may help construct the frame of a building or use hand and power tools to install cabinets and other small-scale wooden structures. Depending on the needs of your company, you may work on the interior or exterior frame of a building during its construction. You can help remodel existing structures or create unique fixtures or supports as needed. Most commercial carpenters work in the building construction business, but some commercial carpenters specialize in tasks like creating exhibits for museums. This job usually involves traveling to job sites. Commercial carpenters should not be confused with residential carpenters, who help build houses instead of larger commercial facilities.

• Trim Carpenter

  Salary range: $42,000 - $55,500

  Trim carpenters specialize in installing or repairing trim or molding, often in the final stage of carpentry work. Their responsibilities include cutting and installing trim, such as that found around windows, doors, baseboards, and on ornamental pieces like crown moldings and fireplace mantels. Trim carpenters are one of the last people to work on a project, giving it a clean and polished look.

• Cabinet Installer

  Salary range: $41,000 - $54,000

  A cabinet installer fits cupboards into kitchens, bathrooms, closets, garages, pantries, and other spaces. While their primary clientele consists of residential property owners, some commercial tenants hire a cabinet installer to install cupboards in office areas. The duties of a cabinet installer include measuring rooms and spaces to determine the materials needed, building custom and ready-made cabinets, handling the installation of parts, and applying finish such as paint or stain. You need skills with power tools and hand tools to be a cabinet installer.

• Cabinet Finisher

  Salary range: $38,500 - $52,000

  A cabinet finisher completes the final touches to cabinets, such as sanding and varnishing, to make them ready for installation. As a cabinet finisher, you use a variety of tools to brush, stain, paint, and seal cabinets. Cabinets are typically made of metal, wood, or plastic, so cabinet finishers must be proficient with different types of materials. Other duties include putting lacquer on the cabinets, color-matching the top coat of the cabinets to ensure uniformity, and creating custom designs on the cabinets.

• Form Carpenter

  Salary range: $43,000 - $52,000

  Form carpenters, also called rough carpenters, build molds that contain wet concrete that hardens into forms according to a plan. They also construct and disassemble form work of metal and wood fixtures. As a form carpenter, you consult drawings, measure, and cut wood to shape the molds and position them so that the concrete can dry after pouring. Concrete form carpenters can build structures for a residential home, work in commercial buildings, and take part in highway construction. With enough experience, you can take part in industrial projects like building bridges. Your job duties entail learning how to use hand and power tools to get the work done as quickly and safely as possible.

• Framer

  Salary range: $38,000 - $51,500

  A framer works in construction and is responsible for building the wooden frames of houses or other buildings. Their job duties include choosing the proper material for the project, consulting with clients and contractors, budgeting and scheduling jobs, and putting up the frame so that other construction workers can build out the rest of the home or structure. Framers, also known as carpenters, use various carpentry equipment and tools, such as framing squares, tape measures, and hammers. They read blueprints and other schematics and may be responsible for developing work plans.

• Cabinet Maker

  Salary range: $36,000 - $50,000

  A Cabinet Maker creates cabinets for homes and businesses. Traditionally, Cabinet Makers were craftsmen who created cabinets out of solid wood. Today, cabinets can be made with sturdy artificial materials, like plywood and laminates, and the tools used are more industrial. Cabinet Makers who do woodwork use typical tools like saws or sanders to shape the wood. In some cases, the Cabinet Makers will create custom cabinets and see the project through from design to installation.

• Carpenter Assistant

  Salary range: $33,000 - $49,500

  Carpenter assistants, also known as carpenter helpers, provide support to the primary carpenters on a project. In this role, you may review the blueprints and plans for the finished product with the lead carpenters, then you perform tasks under their supervision. Your job duties may include measuring lengths, cutting wood, and holding beams while they are secured into place. Carpenter assistants typically do not work on the main parts of the project, such as communicating with the client and establishing the start of the structure. Many carpenter assistants are apprentices who are training to become full-time carpenters, but some assistants are hired in temporary roles for companies that need extra people on staff for larger projects.

• Apprentice Carpenter

  Salary range: $36,000 - $48,000

  An Apprentice Carpenter receives on-the-job training from an experienced, licensed carpenter. They learn basic carpentry skills such as how to read a blueprint, identify the best tools for a job, measure and cut wood, and assemble parts to create a finished product. During the apprenticeship, the job duties of an Apprentice Carpenter include cleaning up debris from construction areas, retrieving tools, and refilling work pouches for fully qualified carpenters. As they gain experience and familiarity with the tools and carpentry skills, an apprentice carpenter performs tasks that require more skill and responsibility.

• Construction Framer

  Salary range: $41,000 - $48,000

  The job of a construction framer is to build the framing for a residential or commercial structure. As a framer, your duties are to read blueprints or architectural schematics and construct the building’s framework according to the plans. You may also repair old woodwork on building frames. Some construction framers specialize in framing spaces so they can install doors, windows, or floors, while others build the frame for the whole structure. Your responsibilities differ depending on the type of job. In this career, you work both indoors and out and often as part of a larger team. However, for smaller jobs, you may work independently.

• Carpenters Helper

  Salary range: $34,500 - $44,000

  A carpenter helper assists a journeyman or master carpenter with various tasks involving new construction, remodeling, or damage repair. As a carpenter helper, you work both in homes and outside on construction sites, using many types of hand and power tools. Duties include completing basic demolition, cleaning up and preparing work sites, delivering materials, and setting up ladders and temporary structures. Your responsibilities also include removing, replacing, and installing doors, trim, baseboards, cabinets, flooring, windows, bathroom vanities, and more. You also measure, mark, and hold timbers and paneling in place for the carpenter to fasten or cut.

• Cabinet Assembler

  Salary range: $32,000 - $38,000

  The majority of Cabinet Assembler salaries across the United States currently range between $32,000 (25th percentile) and $38,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Cabinet Assembler job market in the United States is somewhat active, with a few companies hiring.

• Union Carpenter

  Salary range: $31,000 - $33,000

  A Union Carpenter is a carpentry worker who is a member of a national union. A union represents members interests and can negotiate on behalf of its members. As a part of a union, these Carpenters often receive higher wages because of collective bargaining and representation from their union. The union can call for a strike if their members are being underpaid, or if working conditions are not up to their standards.