Carpenters in Oklahoma

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,262
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$8,648
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,338
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$46,910
Kept after tax
$38,262
Worth in national money
$43,338
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for carpenters is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $46,910. That is 51 of 51 states, and about 22.57% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Carpenters ranks 298 among 492 occupations Oklahoma publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $46,910 you keep $38,262 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,338 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $49,610, since top earners drag the number up.
- For carpenters, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $46,910, ranking 51 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 22.57%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 298 of 492 in Oklahoma 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.
- Retained pay in Oklahoma is $38,262 after the full tax stack, from $46,910. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,338 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $49,610 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,940 |
| This salary | $46,910 |
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 Oklahoma | $38,262 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,872 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,307 |
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 | $44,906 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,790 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of carpenters in Oklahoma earn under $46,910 and half over. The published range runs $34,670 at the tenth percentile to $64,940 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,262 take-home in Oklahoma comes from $46,910. 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 298 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,338 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 298.
- Figures are distribution medians for carpenters in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,670 to $64,940; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $38,262, from $46,910, assumes a single Oklahoma 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 298 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,338, worked from $46,910, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 298 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $49,610 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,670 at the bottom tenth to $64,940 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Oklahoma sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $43,338 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Oklahoma's own levy, $38,262 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Oklahoma is $49,610. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,670 to $64,940) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $43,338 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 $38,262 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.