Helpers--Carpenters in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,978
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$7,152
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,434
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$38,130
Kept after tax
$30,978
Worth in national money
$34,434
State rank
36
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for helpers--carpenters is on the low side in Kansas. The middle earner gets $38,130. That is 36 of 47 states, and about 12.91% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 488 occupations Kansas publishes, helpers--carpenters lands at 410. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Kansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,130 you keep $30,978, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,434 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,830, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For helpers--carpenters, Kansas sits in the lower band at $38,130, ranking 36 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 12.91%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kansas, this work ranks 410 of 488 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Kansas income tax, retained pay for helpers--carpenters on $38,130 is $30,978. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,434 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $39,830 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,000 |
| This salary | $38,130 |
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 Kansas | $30,978 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$662 |
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 | $35,841 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$801 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $38,130. The published range is $29,900 up to $49,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kansas's $30,978, worked from $38,130. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 410 of 488.
- Two cautions on $34,434, the adjusted value of that $38,130 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kansas. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 410 of 488 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--carpenters in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,900 to $49,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kansas take-home of $30,978, on $38,130 for work ranking 410 of 488 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 410 of 488 in the state.
- This $34,434 adjusted figure, worked from $38,130, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 410 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 410 of 488 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 $39,830, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,900 at the bottom tenth to $49,000 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $34,434.
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; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $30,978.
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.
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 Kansas is $39,830. 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 ($29,900 to $49,000) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $34,434 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 $30,978 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.