Helpers--Carpenters in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,090
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$7,790
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,016
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$43,880
Kept after tax
$36,090
Worth in national money
$37,016
State rank
18
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 18 of 47 states for helpers--carpenters, with a middle wage of $43,880. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, helpers--carpenters ranks 395. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $43,880, take-home of $36,090 is worth roughly $37,016 in national money. The average lands at $43,180, below the middle of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 18 of 47 for helpers--carpenters at $43,880. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, helpers--carpenters ranks 395 of 492, 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for helpers--carpenters, whose median is $43,880, the adjusted figure of $37,016 differs little from $36,090 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $43,180 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,580 |
| This salary | $43,880 |
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 Pennsylvania | $36,090 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,438 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,510 |
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 | $42,203 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,826 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $43,880. The published range is $31,200 up to $56,580, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $36,090, from $43,880, 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 395 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $37,016, the adjusted value of that $43,880 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. 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 395 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--carpenters in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $56,580. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,090 from $43,880. 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 395 of 492 locally.
- This $37,016 adjusted figure, worked from $43,880, 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 395 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 395 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,200 at the tenth percentile, $56,580 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,016 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $36,090 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 ($31,200 to $56,580) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $37,016 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 $36,090 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.