Carpenter Salary in Moreno Valley, CA: Median $68,747 in 2026
Moreno Valley (CA) · COL index 122 · Unemployment 5.2% · Metro pop 215,000 · Rank #42 of 283 for Carpenter salary
A Carpenter in Moreno Valley earns an estimated median of $68,747 per year. That figure starts from the California state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($63,222) and scales it by Moreno Valley's composite cost-of-living index of 122 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $44,355; the 90th percentile reaches $104,194. After federal, California state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Carpenter takes home approximately $54,398/year — about $4,533/month or $2,092 every other week.
Compared to the national Carpenter median of $56,350, Moreno Valley pays +22.0%. Relative to the Moreno Valley median household income of $72,500, a Carpentersalary runs -5.2%. Local unemployment is 5.2%[3], with an estimated 84 annual Carpenter openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (667,400).
Carpenter Snapshot — Moreno Valley (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Moreno Valley | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpenter median salary | $68,747 | $56,350 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $44,355 | $40,790 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $104,194 | $95,820 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $54,398 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $490,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,700/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,575/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $72,500 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 122.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 5.2% | — | [3] |
How Carpenter Salaries Work in Moreno Valley
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the California state-level OEWS median ($63,222) and scaling by Moreno Valley's composite cost-of-living index (122)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and California state income tax at a 3.7% effective rate ($2,517/yr on the $68,747 median)[10].
Moreno Valley also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $72,500, which frames what "a good Carpenter salary" means locally: a $$68,747 wage pays about 95% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Moreno Valley
Estimated annual expense shares on a $54,398 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Moreno Valley's COL index of 122. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Moreno Valley's COL index of 122[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,700/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Moreno Valley
Renting
Buying
At $4,533/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,360/mo. Moreno Valley's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,700/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,575/mo), making rent affordable on a median Carpenter salary. For homebuyers, the 7.1× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.
How Moreno Valley Stacks Up for Carpenters
Against 283 major US cities: Moreno Valley ranks #42 for nominal Carpenter salary, #183 for rent affordability, and #242 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Moreno Valley's nominal wage premium. Carpenters here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Carpenter Salary Comparison
Moreno Valley's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moreno Valley, CA ★ | $68,747 | 122 | $1,700 | — |
| Los Angeles, CA | $97,486 | 173 | $2,050 | +41.8% |
| San Francisco, CA | $120,589 | 214 | $3,498 | +75.4% |
| San Jose, CA | $111,573 | 198 | $2,195 | +62.3% |
| San Diego, CA | $91,851 | 163 | $2,195 | +33.6% |
| Riverside, CA | $68,747 | 122 | $1,750 | +0.0% |
Carpenter Job Market in Moreno Valley
Moreno Valley has an estimated 84 annual Carpenteropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 667,400 national Carpenters[1]. The 5.2% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.
About the profession: Carpenters construct, install, and repair structures and fixtures made of wood and other materials in residential and commercial construction. Typical entry requirement: high school diploma / apprenticeship. Projected growth through 2034: 3%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Moreno Valley
Early-career Carpenters in Moreno Valley start around $44,355, reach the city median ($68,747) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($104,194) at senior / specialized levels.
Related trades professions in Moreno Valley
Calculators for Carpenters in Moreno Valley
Other professions in Moreno Valley
Frequently Asked Questions — Carpenter in Moreno Valley
How much does a Carpenter make in Moreno Valley, CA?
The estimated median salary for a Carpenter in Moreno Valley is $68,747/year, scaled from the national median ($56,350) by Moreno Valley's composite cost-of-living index of 122 (US = 100). After federal, California state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $54,398/year or $4,533/month.
Can a Carpenter afford to live in Moreno Valley?
On $4,533/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,360/month. Moreno Valley's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,700/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,575/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 29.7%, making housing affordable for a Carpenter at the local median. Home-buyers face 7.1× price-to-income, needing roughly 7.1 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Carpenter pay in Moreno Valley?
On $68,747 gross, a Carpenter in Moreno Valley pays approximately $6,573 in federal income tax (9.6% effective), $2,517 in California state income tax (3.7% effective), and $5,259 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 20.9%. Some California cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Moreno Valley rank for Carpenter salaries vs other cities?
Moreno Valley ranks #42 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Carpenter salary, #183 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #242 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Carpenter in Moreno Valley?
On $54,398 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Moreno Valley looks like: housing $20,400/yr (37.5%); food $7,389/yr; transportation $5,919/yr; healthcare $4,059/yr; utilities $3,019/yr; savings + discretionary $13,612/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Moreno Valley's COL index of 122 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Carpenter job market like in Moreno Valley?
Moreno Valley's unemployment rate is 5.2% across the metro of 215,000. Estimated annual Carpenter openings: ~84 (extrapolated from 667,400 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.
Do Moreno Valley employers pay above or below the California median for Carpenters?
Yes — Moreno Valley's estimated Carpenter median of $68,747 is 22.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Moreno Valley median is derived from the California state-level BLS OEWS median ($63,222), scaled by Moreno Valley's composite cost-of-living index of 122. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Carpentermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses California's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 122index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 112.2(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- California Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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