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UK salary report · 2026

Carpenter Salary

Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 57,000 jobs.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Where this comes from →

Median salary

£35,164

gross, per year, all employees

▲ 4.1% change on the previous year

Full-time only

£35,579

Mean

£37,166

Jobs measured

57,000

What a typical carpenter takes home

On the median of £35,164, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.

Take-home a month

£2,403

Take-home a year

£28,838

Income Tax

£4,519

National Insurance

£1,808

Work out yours — with pension, student loan and bonus → £35,000 after tax, step by step →

What most carpenters actually earn

Half of carpenters earn between £28,561 and £43,197. Earning above £43,197 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of carpenters earn less than this.

10th
£21,706
20th
£26,702
25th
£28,561
30th
£30,334
40th
£32,950
50th
£35,164
60th
£37,753
70th
£41,671
75th
£43,197
80th
£44,977
Check where your salary sits

Carpenter salary by region

7 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.

Region Median Mean
South West £37,256 £48,434
Scotland £37,136 £36,831
East £35,484 £37,124
West Midlands £34,629 £35,414
North West £34,084 £34,956
Yorkshire and The Humber £31,747 £33,392
East Midlands £30,573 £35,322

Carpenter jobs hiring now in the UK

Live adverts. Salaries are shown only where the employer states one.

  • Maintenance Engineer Carpenter/Joiner

    PfP Students · Welham Green, Hatfield

    £33,687
  • Carpenter

    Niyaa People · Sherford, Taunton

    £45,760–£49,920
  • Carpenter

    Eleven Eleven Recruitment Ltd · Ixworth, Bury St. Edmunds

    £52,000
  • Carpenter

    United Infrastructure Ltd · Bayfordbury, Hertford

    £38,000
  • Carpenter

    Alpha Technical Recruitment Ltd · Edgbaston, Birmingham

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group
Carpenters and joiners
SOC 2020 code
5316
Measure
Gross annual pay, all employees
Edition
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.

Carpenter salary FAQs

What is the average Carpenter salary in the UK?

The median is £35,164 a year and the mean is £37,166, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £35,579.

How much does a carpenter earn per hour?

Across the UK the median hourly rate is £17.27 excluding overtime, or £17.50 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.

What is a good Carpenter salary?

Half of carpenters earn between £28,561 and £43,197. Anything above £43,197 is in the top quarter for the role.

What is the starting salary for a carpenter?

ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of carpenters earn under £21,706 and the lowest quarter under £28,561 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.

Which part of the UK pays carpenters the most?

South West, at a median of £37,256, is the highest of the 3 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; Yorkshire and The Humber is the lowest at £31,747. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.

Has carpenter pay gone up in the last year?

ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +4.1% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.

How many carpenters are there in the UK?

ASHE counts around 57,000 employee jobs in “Carpenters and joiners” (SOC 5316) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.

Is this figure official?

Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.

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