Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$46,680

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$38,830 – $55,760

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

77,170

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-2.9%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

6,900

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.

Main tasks

• Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.
• Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
• Trim, sand, or scrape surfaces or joints to prepare articles for finishing.
• Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.
• Cut timber to the right size, and shape and trim parts of joints to ensure a snug fit, using hand tools, such as planes, chisels, or wood files.
• Match materials for color, grain, or texture, giving attention to knots or other features of the wood.
• Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.
• Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Model Makers, Wood

  $56,550 median · -3.3% projected

• Furniture Finishers

  $44,540 median · -3.5% projected

• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

  $43,380 median · -2.5% projected

• Carpenters

  $60,580 median · +3.9% projected

• Patternmakers, Wood

  $49,630 median · -2% projected

• Upholsterers

  $46,340 median · -2.3% projected