Helpers--Carpenters in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,002
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$8,548
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,148
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$44,550
Kept after tax
$36,002
Worth in national money
$33,148
State rank
14
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for helpers--carpenters is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $44,550, putting the state 14 of 47 — about 1.76% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Hawaii, this one sits low: 375 of 437 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $44,550, tax leaves $36,002 — and because Hawaii is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $33,148 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $45,280, since top earners drag the number up.
- For helpers--carpenters, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,550, ranking 14 of 47 and running about 1.76% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Helpers--carpenters occupies position 375 of 437 in Hawaii's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $36,002 remains from the Hawaii median of $44,550 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $33,148 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $45,280 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,090 |
| This salary | $44,550 |
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 Hawaii | $36,002 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,976 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,932 |
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 | $42,093 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,174 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,550 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $40,010 and the ninetieth is $54,090 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $36,002, from $44,550, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 375 of 437 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Hawaii, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,148, the adjusted value of that $44,550 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 375 of 437 in the state.
- The Hawaii median of $44,550 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $40,010 to $54,090. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,002 from $44,550. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 375 of 437 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Hawaii, so $33,148 — the adjusted value of that $44,550 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 375 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,010 at the bottom tenth to $54,090 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Hawaii run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $33,148 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Hawaii's own levy, $36,002 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,010 to $54,090) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,148 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 $36,002 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.