Helpers--Carpenters in Mississippi

A hard hat, safety glasses and tool belt beside timber house framing.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$29,269

after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax

Tax takes

$6,091

17.2% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$33,530

Mississippi costs less than average

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

$35,360

Kept after tax

$29,269

Worth in national money

$33,530

State rank

43

of 47 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • The nominal figure here is modest. Mississippi pays helpers--carpenters a middle wage of $35,360, 43 of 47 states and about 19.23% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
  • Within Mississippi this is lower-paid work. Of 486 occupations the state publishes figures for, helpers--carpenters ranks 404. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,360 you keep $29,269 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $33,530 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $34,660.
  • Mississippi's $35,360 median for helpers--carpenters places it 43 of 47 states, about 19.23% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
  • Against every occupation Mississippi reports, helpers--carpenters ranks 404 of 486, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
  • Retained pay in Mississippi is $29,269 after the full tax stack, from $35,360. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,530 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $34,660 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.

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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$29,120
Half earn under$35,360
Top tenth earn over$42,670
This salary$35,360

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

Compare with
+$1,322take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Mississippi$29,269
Take-home in Texas$30,592
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$2,049

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

Moving to
$0$37,838
$37,838in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$33,714
Raise you would need+$2,478
Prices in Texas97 vs 87

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Half the people doing this work in Mississippi earn less than $35,360. The published range is $29,120 up to $42,670, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
  • In Mississippi the take-home figure of $29,269, from $35,360, 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 404 of 486 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,530, the adjusted value of that $35,360 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 404 of 486 in the state.
  • Reported values are medians; for helpers--carpenters in Mississippi the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,120 to $42,670. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • Take-home for Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,269 from $35,360. 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 404 of 486 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $33,530 — the adjusted value of that $35,360 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 404 of 486 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,120 and the top tenth $42,670, so most people doing this work in Mississippi sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

More than the figure suggests. Prices in Mississippi sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $33,530 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.

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 Mississippi adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,269 of this wage survives to your account.

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.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,120 to $42,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Mississippi'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 $33,530 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 $29,269 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.