How much do carpenters make in Indiana in 2026?

Indiana carpenters earned a median wage of $62,870 per year, or about $30.23 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data from May 2025. That figure sits in the middle of the state's pay range — a useful anchor whether you're starting out, switching employers, or negotiating a raise.

The bottom quarter of Indiana carpenters — those at the 25th percentile — earned $49,940 per year, which works out to roughly $24.01 per hour. If you're landing your first full-time carpentry job or working in a rural county with less commercial activity, expect your starting pay to fall somewhere in this range. It's honest work at a fair starting wage, but there's clear room to move up.

The top quarter of earners cleared $76,850 per year, or about $36.95 per hour. Workers at this level typically have ten or more years of field experience, hold a supervisory role, specialize in a higher-demand niche like structural framing on large commercial projects or finish work on custom residential builds, or some combination of all three. That $76,850 figure is also where you'll often find lead carpenters on industrial and institutional job sites who manage crews and carry responsibility for scheduling and material takeoffs.

The spread between the 25th and 75th percentile — roughly $26,910 per year — tells you something important: carpentry in Indiana rewards skill accumulation and specialization. This isn't a trade where everyone earns roughly the same regardless of experience. The gap between an entry-level framer and a seasoned finish carpenter or formwork specialist is real and measurable.

Several factors push Indiana carpenter wages higher or lower. Geography matters. The Indianapolis metro — Marion County and the surrounding collar counties — tends to concentrate larger commercial and mixed-use projects, which generally pay more than small residential remodeling work in rural areas. Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville also carry stronger wage floors than more sparsely populated parts of the state simply because larger contractors operate there and competition for skilled workers is higher.

Specialization is probably the single biggest lever you can pull. A carpenter who can read structural drawings, set complex forms for concrete work, or execute tight-tolerance millwork and cabinet installation is worth more to a contractor than someone who can only rough-frame. Adding those skills — through apprenticeship, on-the-job cross-training, or additional coursework — directly translates into movement from the median toward the 75th percentile and beyond.

Overtime is another real factor in this trade. Construction schedules are deadline-driven, and Indiana contractors running short-staffed or racing against weather will pay overtime to get work done. A carpenter earning the state median of $30.23 per hour clears $45.35 for every overtime hour. A worker who picks up ten overtime hours per week for six months adds roughly $7,000 to $8,000 to their annual take-home. That's not a small number.

No union scale data is available for carpenters in Indiana through this dataset. That doesn't mean union work doesn't exist in the state — the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters operates in Indiana and sets its own negotiated wage scales by local and classification — but those figures aren't captured in the BLS OEWS data used here. If you're considering a union apprenticeship or journeyman card in Indiana, contact the relevant local directly for current scale rates and fringe benefit packages, which can add significant value on top of the hourly base.

All wage figures on this page come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. Hourly rates are derived by dividing annual figures by 2,080 hours (52 weeks × 40 hours).