A carpenter's real product is hours: measuring, cutting, fitting, filling and the trips in between. Per foot and per door prices are just hours in disguise. Work out how long a job really takes you, put a loaded rate on it, add material with markup, and the per foot number follows.
- Track your own hours per foot of crown or per door for a month. That is the base for every quote after.
- Fixr lists carpenters at $75 to $125 an hour, about $90 for a journeyman doing general work.
- Crown molding runs $4 to $8 a linear foot installed in Fixr's guide, or $50 to $70 an hour.
- Door casing runs $150 to $250 a door in Fixr's guide, about $175 on average.
- Kitchen cabinet installers charge $50 to $200 a linear foot or $40 to $100 an hour, per Fixr.
Hourly, per foot or per job
- Hourly. Fair for repairs and old houses where nothing is square. Give a range and a cap.
- Per linear foot. Good for crown, baseboard and chair rail once you know your speed. Add corners and returns.
- Per door or per piece. Doors, casings, shelves and cabinet boxes. Easy for customers to compare.
- Per job. Built-ins and full trim packages, built from hours and material, with a written scope.
Setting your labor rate
Start with the wage. The closest group the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes is carpenters. In its May 2025 wage survey, that group's national mean wage was $31.55 an hour and the median was $29.12 (BLS OEWS 47-2031). Finish carpenters who can cope a joint and scribe a cabinet to a wavy wall earn more than the median.
Add your labor burden on top: payroll taxes, workers' comp and any paid time off. If burden in your state comes to 20% of wages, a $32 an hour tech costs you $38.40 an hour. That loaded number is what goes into the job cost.
Published carpentry prices
| Job | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| By the hour | ||
| Carpenter, typical | $75 to $125 an hour | Fixr |
| Journeyman, general carpentry | About $90 an hour | Fixr |
| Crown molding installers | $50 to $70 an hour | Fixr |
| Cabinet installers | $40 to $100 an hour | Fixr |
| By the foot or piece | ||
| Crown molding, installed | $4 to $8 a linear ft | Fixr |
| Door casing, per door | $150 to $250 | Fixr |
| Cabinet install, flat rate | $50 to $200 a linear ft | Fixr |
| By the job | ||
| Crown molding, whole home | About $3,150 | Fixr |
| Kitchen cabinet installation | $4,000 to $14,000 | Fixr |
A worked example: crown in three rooms and six door casings
Every input is an assumption for the example.
- Scope: 150 linear feet of paint-grade crown in a living room, dining room and hall, and new casing on six doors.
- Material: crown at $3 a foot and casing kits at $40 a door from your supplier.
- Time: 22.5 hours of one carpenter at $38.40 an hour loaded, from your own tracked speed.
- Driving at 76 cents a mile, the IRS business rate for the second half of 2026 (IRS standard mileage rates).
- Overhead 20% of the price and profit 15%.
- Paint-grade crown molding: 150 ft x $3 = $450
- Door casing kits: 6 doors x $40 = $240
- Labor: 1 carpenter x 22.5 hours x $38.40 = $864
- Glue, nails, caulk and blades: $60
- Drive: 3 trips x 20 miles x $0.76 = $45.60
- Direct cost: $450 + $240 + $864 + $60 + $45.60 = $1,659.60
- Overhead plus profit: 20% + 15% = 35% of the price
- Price: $1,659.60 / (1 - 0.35) = $1,659.60 / 0.65 = $2,553
Check it: 35% of $2,553 is about $894, and $2,553 minus $894 is about $1,659, the direct cost of $1,659.60. The profit and overhead are inside the price, not added on top of a cost you guessed.
That is above Fixr's $4 to $8 a foot for crown alone, because this job also casts six doors and carries its own setup and trips. A whole-home crown job, with long straight runs, spreads that setup thin, which is why Fixr's whole-home average is about $3,150. Small trim jobs need a minimum.
Good, better, best for trim
- Good: paint-grade MDF crown and flat casing.
- Better: the $2,553 job above, paint-grade wood crown and colonial casing.
- Best: stain-grade hardwood crown with a built-up profile.
Send them with Koira's estimates. The customer picks one, signs and pays the deposit on the same page. Bill bigger jobs in stages with progress invoices.
Quote from photos, fix on site
Many trim and door jobs can be priced close enough from photos and a few measurements. Koira drafts the estimate from the photos and your price list; you check it before it goes. Confirm on site before you cut.
Common carpentry pricing mistakes
- Corners left out. Inside and outside corners take longer than straight runs. Count them.
- Painting assumed. Say whether caulk, fill and paint are yours or the painter's.
- Old houses priced like new. Out-of-square walls and plaster add hours.
- No minimum. A single door casing still means a trip, setup and cleanup.
Sources
Every published figure on this page was read on the source page itself on the date shown. Worked example inputs are assumptions, labeled as such.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Carpenters (47-2031), checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Carpenter cost per hour, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Cost to install crown molding, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Cost to install door casing, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Kitchen cabinet installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: Standard mileage rates, checked October 9, 2026
Questions contractors ask
How much should a carpenter charge per hour?
Build it from your loaded wage, overhead and profit. Fixr lists carpenters at $75 to $125 an hour, about $90 for general work.
How much is crown molding per foot?
Fixr lists $4 to $8 a linear foot installed, or $50 to $70 an hour.
What should I charge to case a door?
Fixr lists door casing at $150 to $250 a door, about $175 on average.
How do cabinet installers charge?
Per Fixr, either a flat $50 to $200 a linear foot or $40 to $100 an hour.
