Helpers--Carpenters in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,383
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$7,087
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,148
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$39,470
Kept after tax
$32,383
Worth in national money
$31,148
State rank
33
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is among the lower-paying states for helpers--carpenters. The middle earner takes $39,470, ranking 33 of 47 states — about 9.84% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 431 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $39,470 the take-home is $32,383; in national-average money that behaves like $31,148. The average comes to $41,790, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maryland ranks 33 of 47 for helpers--carpenters, with a median of $39,470 — about 9.84% 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.
- Helpers--carpenters occupies position 431 of 489 in Maryland'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.
- Take-home for helpers--carpenters in Maryland, on $39,470, is $32,383; deflated by the state's price level, $31,148. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $41,790 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,190 |
| This salary | $39,470 |
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 Maryland | $32,383 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,894 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,732 |
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 | $37,589 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,513 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 Maryland earn under $39,470 and half over. The published range runs $31,660 at the tenth percentile to $54,190 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $32,383, worked from $39,470. 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 431 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,148 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 431.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--carpenters in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,660 to $54,190; 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.
- The Maryland take-home of $32,383, on $39,470 for work ranking 431 of 489 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 431 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,148, worked from $39,470, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 431 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,790, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,660 at the tenth percentile, $54,190 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Maryland costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $31,148 rather than its face figure.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $32,383.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Maryland is $41,790. 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 ($31,660 to $54,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $31,148 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 $32,383 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.