Carpenters salary in Salinas, CA
Median pay for carpenters in Salinas, CA: $64,370/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $47,200 – $95,690 · about 1,080 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($49,990) by +$14,380 (+29%).
What it's really worth in Salinas
With Salinas's cost of living at 113 (US=100), that $64,370 has the buying power of about $56,874 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $91,043 · median home $850,461 · median rent $2,895/mo.
How Salinas ranks for this job
On raw pay, Salinas, CA is 18th of the 187 metros we hold carpenters wages for. Once Salinas's cost of living is applied, it ranks 67th.
The headline number flatters Salinas. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, carpenters here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.
What that salary buys in Salinas
A median home in Salinas, CA costs $850,461 — about 13.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $2,895/mo works out at 54% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.
Where carpenters earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Salinas.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Salinas | Rent vs Salinas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu, HI | $90,030 | +40% | 1× |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $80,260 | +25% | 0.9× |
| San Francisco, CA | $79,730 | +24% | 1.1× |
| San Jose, CA | $75,600 | +17% | 1.3× |
Same job elsewhere in CA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Salinas | Rent vs Salinas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa, CA | $80,260 | +25% | 0.9× |
| San Francisco, CA | $79,730 | +24% | 1.1× |
| San Jose, CA | $75,600 | +17% | 1.3× |
| Vallejo, CA | $69,740 | +8% | 0.8× |
Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Salinas
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.