Helpers--Carpenters in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,081
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$8,809
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,490
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$49,890
Kept after tax
$41,081
Worth in national money
$36,490
State rank
6
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for helpers--carpenters. The middle earner takes $49,890, which ranks 6 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 13.96% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 366.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $49,890 the take-home is $41,081; in national-average money that behaves like $36,490. The average comes to $54,530, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- California ranks 6 of 47 states publishing a median for helpers--carpenters, at $49,890 — about 13.96% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In California's occupational distribution, helpers--carpenters sits at 366 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Take-home for helpers--carpenters in California, on $49,890, is $41,081; deflated by the state's price level, $36,490. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $54,530 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,080 |
| This salary | $49,890 |
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 California | $41,081 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,267 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,005 |
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 | $48,414 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,472 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 helpers--carpenters in California earn under $49,890 and half over. The published range runs $36,690 at the tenth percentile to $76,080 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $41,081 take-home in California comes from $49,890. 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 366 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,490, the adjusted value of that $49,890 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 366 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--carpenters in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,690 to $76,080; 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 $41,081, from $49,890, assumes a single California 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 366 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $36,490 — the adjusted value of that $49,890 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 366 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $54,530, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $36,690 at the bottom tenth to $76,080 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $36,490 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $41,081 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 California is $54,530. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($36,690) and the ninetieth ($76,080) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $36,490 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $41,081 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.