Carpenters in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,859
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$9,361
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,191
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$48,220
Kept after tax
$38,859
Worth in national money
$43,191
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for carpenters. The middle earner takes $48,220, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 20.4% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Carpenters ranks 268 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,220 the take-home is $38,859; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,191 would nationally. The average comes to $49,490, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama ranks 48 of 51 for carpenters, with a median of $48,220 — about 20.4% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 268 of 482 in Alabama places carpenters in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for carpenters in Alabama, on $48,220, is $38,859 — equivalent to $43,191 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $49,490 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,140 |
| This salary | $48,220 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $38,859 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,925 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,077 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,649 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,302 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,220 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,430 and the ninetieth is $63,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $38,859 take-home in Alabama comes from $48,220. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 268 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,191 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 268.
- The Alabama median of $48,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,430 to $63,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $38,859, from $48,220, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 268 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,191, worked from $48,220, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 268 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,430 at the tenth percentile, $63,140 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $43,191 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $38,859.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,430 to $63,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $43,191 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,859 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.