It’s not surprising, given the cost of living, that San Francisco salaries rank No. 1 or No. 2 in all nine markets we studied. What is surprising, though, is that carpenters and production managers make 13% and 14% less than their New York counterparts, respectively, yet the two cities are similarly expensive. The pay for those jobs, especially newer carpenters, is nowhere near the cost of living.
When it comes to carpenters with less than two years’ experience, San Francisco and Boston are the only markets to provide enough data for statistical accuracy. San Francisco’s average of $34,773 is barely above the city’s minimum wage of $15.00 per hour. Starting in 2019, the minimum wage will be adjusted each year based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.
San Francisco is one of the markets where job-related education makes a significant difference in pay. While only 15% of carpenters took advantage of the opportunity, the percentage increases as employees move up, and 73% of production managers have some sort of certification.
Remodelers in San Francisco are expecting to increase pay for field staff by approximately 4.5% over the next 12 months. Raises of that size will likely outpace general price increases, but even with that adjustment, San Francisco salaries—especially for carpenters—will still lag behind the Cost of Living Index.
