Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
HVAC Technician vs Carpenter
HVAC Technicians earn a national median of $62,556 versus $61,080 for Carpenters, a gap of $1,476 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. HVAC Technicians have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +2% for Carpenters.
How These Trades Stack Up
HVAC Technician and Carpenter pay roughly the same on national median — $62,556 versus $61,080, a gap of less than $1,476. For most workers, the choice between the two trades will hinge on apprenticeship length, work environment, and personal interest rather than pay.
HVAC Technicians have grown faster — +6% over five years versus +2% for Carpenters. Sustained growth gaps of this size can compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career, so workers comparing the two trades should weigh growth alongside the headline median.
Both trades follow a 4-year apprenticeship pathway — paid on-the-job training combined with classroom instruction, registered through the U.S. Department of Labor at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/. Apprentice pay typically scales from roughly 40% of journeyman wage in year one to 95% by the final year.
HVAC Technician
HVAC · 4yr apprenticeship
Carpenter
Construction · 4yr apprenticeship
City-by-City Comparison
| City | HVAC Technician | Carpenter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston, MA | $77,600 | $73,800 | +$3,800 |
| San Francisco, CA | $76,760 | $80,950 | -$4,190 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $76,090 | $75,710 | +$380 |
| Seattle, WA | $75,500 | $76,760 | -$1,260 |
| Chicago, IL | $74,400 | $76,510 | -$2,110 |
| New York, NY | $74,090 | $69,680 | +$4,410 |
| Denver, CO | $64,990 | $61,470 | +$3,520 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $64,820 | $73,840 | -$9,020 |
| Portland, OR | $64,290 | $65,810 | -$1,520 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $63,490 | $62,260 | +$1,230 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $62,830 | $62,350 | +$480 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $62,030 | $61,870 | +$160 |
| Columbus, OH | $61,990 | $61,490 | +$500 |
| St. Louis, MO | $61,880 | $65,090 | -$3,210 |
| Detroit, MI | $61,140 | $65,060 | -$3,920 |
| Kansas City, MO | $61,080 | $61,040 | +$40 |
| Nashville, TN | $59,840 | $53,730 | +$6,110 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $59,530 | $59,650 | -$120 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $58,820 | $59,030 | -$210 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $58,790 | $61,470 | -$2,680 |
| Charlotte, NC | $57,950 | $50,810 | +$7,140 |
| Houston, TX | $57,910 | $48,910 | +$9,000 |
| New Orleans, LA | $57,780 | $51,130 | +$6,650 |
| Dallas, TX | $57,670 | $48,420 | +$9,250 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $57,110 | $59,410 | -$2,300 |
| Atlanta, GA | $56,830 | $51,390 | +$5,440 |
| Raleigh, NC | $54,180 | $49,520 | +$4,660 |
| San Antonio, TX | $53,770 | $47,670 | +$6,100 |
| Miami, FL | $53,510 | $48,400 | +$5,110 |
| Tampa, FL | $50,010 | $49,170 | +$840 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
All wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2024) release at bls.gov/oes. National medians are the BLS-published median wages for the trade's Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; metropolitan medians come from the same OEWS release at the metropolitan statistical area level. Five-year wage growth compares the current OEWS median to the same series five releases prior, expressed as a percent change. The Trade Pay Score weights raw pay (30%), wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%) into a single 0-100 grade — read the full methodology.
Forward-looking employment projections through 2032 for both trades are published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship pathway detail comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry. All three are public-domain federal data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do HVAC Technicians or Carpenters make more money?
HVAC Technicians earn more on national median — $62,556 versus $61,080, a gap of $1,476 per 2024 BLS OEWS data. The full BLS dataset is published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
Which trade has stronger 5-year wage growth?
HVAC Technicians have posted faster wage growth at +6% versus +2% for Carpenters. Sustained gaps in growth often compound meaningfully over a 20-30 year career.
How long is the apprenticeship for each trade?
HVAC Technicians typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Carpenters typically complete a 4-year registered apprenticeship. Programs are listed at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/.
Which trade has better employment depth?
HVAC Technicians have 157,240 workers employed nationally; Carpenters have 299,230. Larger employment bases generally translate into more job openings, easier mobility between employers, and lower volatility — useful when comparing the long-term resilience of two trade pathways.
Where can I find apprenticeships for either trade?
Registered apprenticeship programs for both HVAC Technician and Carpenter are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/, which lets you filter by trade, state, and city. Projected employment growth through 2032 for each occupation is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
HVAC Technicians earn a national median of $62,556 versus $61,080 for Carpenters, a gap of $1,476 per 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. HVAC Technicians have posted +6% 5-year wage growth versus +2% for Carpenters.
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Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.