Helpers--Carpenters Salary — Portland, Oregon

The average Helpers--Carpenters in Portland, Oregon earns $48,540 a year.

$48,540 / year, mean
↑ 12.4% above national average 100th percentile in Oregon

Portland sits at the very top of the range for this role in Oregon — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's a solid premium over the national average for helpers--carpenters. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Oregon

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
130
Estimate confidence
RSE 3.5%
Cost of living 105 #21 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2419 #180 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $552,022 #24 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $94,573 #19 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Portland ranks #21 for cost of living and #24 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Los Angeles $62,310 San Francisco $60,900 Santa Cruz $58,160 Wenatchee $52,960 Seattle $50,330 Sacramento $49,950 Chicago $49,300 Kiryas Joel $48,740 Portland $48,540 Stockton $47,950 Oxnard $47,610 New York $47,340 Beaumont $46,750 Charlottesville $46,520 Olympia $45,670 San Diego $45,590 Riverside $45,340 Austin $44,170 Atlantic City $43,870 Houston $43,850 Pittsburgh $43,780 Sarasota $43,730 Naples $43,720 Richmond $43,720 Winchester $43,410 Buffalo $43,110 Syracuse $42,670 Tampa $42,640 Philadelphia $42,380 Virginia Beach $42,360 Miami $42,210 Rochester $42,150 Dallas $41,990 Roanoke $41,940 Detroit $41,480 Orlando $41,360 Lancaster $41,080 Port St. Lucie $40,800 Fort Myers $40,640 Lynchburg $40,600 Jacksonville $40,510 Baltimore $39,530 San Antonio $39,340 Hagerstown $37,970 Waco $37,820 Scranton $37,720 Huntington $35,040 El Paso $32,050
CityMean salaryvs. Portland
Atlantic City, New Jersey$43,870-9.6%
Austin, Texas$44,170-9.0%
Baltimore, Maryland$39,530-18.6%
Beaumont, Texas$46,750-3.7%
Buffalo, New York$43,110-11.2%
Fort Myers, Florida$40,640-16.3%
Charlottesville, Virginia$46,520-4.2%
Chicago, Illinois$49,300+1.6%
Dallas, Texas$41,990-13.5%
Detroit, Michigan$41,480-14.5%
El Paso, Texas$32,050-34.0%
Hagerstown, Maryland$37,970-21.8%
Houston, Texas$43,850-9.7%
Huntington, West Virginia$35,040-27.8%
Jacksonville, Florida$40,510-16.5%
Kiryas Joel, New York$48,740+0.4%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$41,080-15.4%
Los Angeles, California$62,310+28.4%
Lynchburg, Virginia$40,600-16.4%
Miami, Florida$42,210-13.0%
Naples, Florida$43,720-9.9%
New York, New York$47,340-2.5%
Sarasota, Florida$43,730-9.9%
Olympia, Washington$45,670-5.9%
Orlando, Florida$41,360-14.8%
Oxnard, California$47,610-1.9%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$42,380-12.7%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$43,780-9.8%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$40,800-15.9%
Richmond, Virginia$43,720-9.9%
Riverside, California$45,340-6.6%
Roanoke, Virginia$41,940-13.6%
Rochester, New York$42,150-13.2%
Sacramento, California$49,950+2.9%
San Antonio, Texas$39,340-19.0%
San Diego, California$45,590-6.1%
San Francisco, California$60,900+25.5%
Santa Cruz, California$58,160+19.8%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$37,720-22.3%
Seattle, Washington$50,330+3.7%
Stockton, California$47,950-1.2%
Syracuse, New York$42,670-12.1%
Tampa, Florida$42,640-12.2%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$42,360-12.7%
Waco, Texas$37,820-22.1%
Wenatchee, Washington$52,960+9.1%
Winchester, Virginia$43,410-10.6%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
48,540/yr
Estimated take-home
37,811/yr
Est. total withheld
22.1%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Helpers--Carpenters salaries in Oregon → All Helpers--Carpenters salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Portland

These notes add local color around Portland, Oregon: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 47-3012 SOC code
Official area Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 38900 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: or_dor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
VancouverHillsboro
Multi-state area: OR;WA
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Oregon

Population (metro area)
2,510,529