Carpenters Average Salary in South Carolina
$55,350 average · $55,350 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 47-2031What is this?
This page shows employer-reported wages for Carpenters in South Carolina, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. Licensure and union status are the structural levers. Licensed trades (electrical, plumbing, elevator) out-earn unlicensed work substantially, and union-dense states show wage gaps of 30-50% over open-shop states for identical work — visible directly in the state comparisons on this site. Within a trade, the journeyman-to-foreman-to-superintendent ladder is the progression that reaches the top percentiles.
How much do Carpenters make in South Carolina?
The average carpenters salary in South Carolina is $55,350 per year. That works out to about $26.61 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 6,950 carpenters jobs in South Carolina.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $55,350. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $55,350; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $55,350 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Construction and Extraction Careers Are Structured
Construction wages carry a premium over comparable-education work that compensates for two realities: physical demands and cyclicality. The trend data for these occupations shows the boom-bust signature clearly — employment swings with interest rates and building cycles even when wages hold. Plan for the trough years, not just the current figure.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how carpenters pay is distributed in South Carolina specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Licensure and union status are the structural levers. Licensed trades (electrical, plumbing, elevator) out-earn unlicensed work substantially, and union-dense states show wage gaps of 30-50% over open-shop states for identical work — visible directly in the state comparisons on this site. Within a trade, the journeyman-to-foreman-to-superintendent ladder is the progression that reaches the top percentiles.
The registered apprenticeship is the canonical entry: three to five years of paid training, no tuition debt, and a license at the end. Laborer entry is immediate and can convert into an apprenticeship from inside. The long-game consideration is the body: successful construction careers plan the transition into supervision, inspection, or estimating before wear forces it.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
What Do Carpenters Do?
Carpenters positions belong to the construction and extraction field. Construction wages carry a premium over comparable-education work that compensates for two realities: physical demands and cyclicality. The trend data for these occupations shows the boom-bust signature clearly — employment swings with interest rates and building cycles even when wages hold. Plan for the trough years, not just the current figure.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 47-2031
Carpenters pay in South Carolina
In South Carolina, carpenters report a median of $55,350 (about $26.61/hour) across roughly 6,950 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $55,350 at the 10th percentile to $55,350 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons South Carolina wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in South Carolina
Prices in South Carolina run 6% below the national average (RPP 93.7). So a nominal salary of $55,350 has the buying power of about $59,041 in national terms.
South Carolina vs. United States for Carpenters
The median carpenters salary in South Carolina is $55,350, which is -15.7% below the national median of $65,630 (mean pay is -15.8% below the U.S. mean of $65,741). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, South Carolina ranks #37 by median wage for this occupation. South Carolina accounts for about 0.2% of U.S. carpenters employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Carpenters in South Carolina of $55,350 falls in the Middle class band of this framework - roughly ~10% of the U.S. population and ~10% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
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Occupation Report Card
Top Industries for Carpenters
| $66,646 | $61,261 | $32 | 1,691,550 |
Related Occupations
SOC: 47-2152 • 92% match | $71,968 | $71,870 | $35 | 2,702,480 |
SOC: 47-2111 • 91% match | $71,382 | $70,190 | $34 | 4,439,520 |
| $66,012 | $66,640 | $32 | 2,520,790 | |
SOC: 43-5052 • 90% match | $62,540 | $62,540 | $30 | 1,972,920 |
| Find Postal Service Mail Carriers Jobs | ||||
SOC: 43-5061 • 93% match | $62,229 | $62,150 | $30 | 2,054,830 |
SOC: 51-4121 • 93% match | $56,841 | $56,580 | $27 | 2,131,530 |
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Carpenters in Other States
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Viewing: Carpenters (SOC: 47-2031)