Carpentry profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Carpentry falls under Specialty trade contractors. For tax year 2023, 2,521,516 returns reported $257.8 billion in receipts, $80.4 billion in cost of sales and $40.5 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 68.8% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 15.7% |
| Average receipts per return | $102,220 |
| Average net income per return | $16,054 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in carpentry
Carpentry is labor heavy: the material on a trim or cabinet job is a small share next to the hours of fitting and finishing. Walls that are not square and floors that are not level eat time no one quoted.
Where carpentry margin leaks, and how to win it back
- Out-of-square walls that double the fitting time
- Trim waste priced too low
- Supply runs during the job
- Small extras done free
- Hourly rates that ignore drive and setup
Ways carpenters raise margin: price trim by the foot with a waste factor; charge for out-of-square fitting in blocks; batch small jobs into one visit; mark up materials.
Check your carpentry prices against the costs
The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:
| Service | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Crown molding, MDF, installed | $11.50 | $4.00 to $19.00 a foot |
| Crown molding, solid wood, installed | $24 | $6.00 to $42 a foot |
| Interior prehung door, installed | $522 | $365 to $679 a door |
| Pocket door, installed | $1,442 | $1,008 to $1,876 a door |
| Cabinet installation only | $125 | $50 to $200 a foot |
| Old cabinet removal and haul away | $538 | $325 to $750 a job |
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual carpentry menu: crown molding, mdf, installed; crown molding, solid wood, installed; baseboard and casing; wainscoting and accent walls; interior prehung door, installed; pocket door, installed; cabinet installation only; old cabinet removal and haul away; built-in shelves and closets; wall framing; rot repair; stair and railing repair.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In carpentry it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are carpenters pay an average of $94 a month for; commercial auto at $239 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent carpentry job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for carpenters, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, crown molding installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- CostHelper, crown molding cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr, crown molding cost, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, ceiling painting cost, checked October 9, 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files), checked October 8, 2026
- US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, interior door installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, door installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Kitchen cabinet installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Bob Vila: Cost of kitchen cabinets, checked October 9, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.