Carpenter: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Carpenters and joiners (SOC 5316)
About £29,136 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.6% on last year
£2,965 a month About £2,428 a month after tax 54 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £27,802 in 2021 to £35,579 in 2026 (+28%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | £22,207 | £27,802 | £31,370 | x |
| 2022 | £19,794 | £24,695 | £28,823 | £32,885 | x |
| 2023 | £22,053 | £25,785 | £30,509 | £35,539 | x |
| 2024 | £23,008 | £27,860 | £32,900 | £37,507 | x |
| 2025 | £23,407 | £28,898 | £34,005 | £40,569 | x |
| 2026 | £24,399 | £29,888 | £35,579 | £43,264 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £35,579 a year and half earn more. That is 13% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £29,888 and £43,264; one in ten earns less than £24,399.
Ranked by median, it is number 204 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,428 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,426 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £24,399 | £2,033 |
| 20th | £27,802 | £2,317 |
| 25th (P25) | £29,888 | £2,491 |
| 30th | £30,954 | £2,580 |
| 40th | £33,576 | £2,798 |
| Median (50th) | £35,579 | £2,965 |
| 60th | £38,035 | £3,170 |
| 70th | £42,156 | £3,513 |
| 75th (P75) | £43,264 | £3,605 |
| 80th | £45,122 | £3,760 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £35,574 | £38,014 | 54 |
| Women | x | x | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £29,136 | £2,428 |
| Scotland | £29,116 | £2,426 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £36,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 67 job titles to SOC 5316 Carpenters and joiners. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Aircraft joiner
- Architectural model maker
- Architectural modeller
- Bank fitter
- Bar fitter
- Bed frame maker
- Bedroom fitter
- Bedroom installer
- Bedroom manufacturer
- Bench hand
- Bench joiner
- Bench man
- Builder's joiner
- Carpenter
- Carpenter and builder
- Carpenter and joiner
- Carpenter-builder
- Carpenter-diver
- Carpenter-joiner
- Carpentry contractor
- Casement maker
- Door maker
- Door manufacturer
- Exhibition erector
- Exhibition fitter
- Exhibition model maker
- Fixer
- Frame maker
- Hoarding erector
- Joiner
- Joiner and carpenter
- Joiner foreman
- Joiner-builder
- Joiner-carpenter
- Joiner-machinist
- Joinery manufacturer
- Kitchen fitter
- Kitchen installer
- Kitchen manufacturer
- Loftsman and scriever
- Maintenance joiner
- Manufacturer
- Model maker
- Model manufacturer
- Office fitter
- Office partitioning erector
- Pattern maker
- Scriever
- Scriever-in
- Ship's model maker
- Shop and office fitter
- Shop fitter
- Shop fitter's joiner
- Shopfitter
- Shutter maker
- Shutterer
- Shuttering erector
- Shuttering joiner
- Staircase builder
- Stand fitter
Show all 67 titles
- Step maker
- Template maker
- Truss maker
- Window frame maker
- Wood model maker
- Wooden template maker
- Woodworker
Similar occupations
All jobs in Skilled trades occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.