About this tool
The Carpenter Index measures the share of entry-level home sales in the top 100 U.S. metro areas that a household earning the average carpenter's income could afford. It shows whether the people who build homes can afford to buy them, which is a useful gauge of local housing affordability.
- Shows
- The share of entry-level home sales in each of the top 100 U.S. metros that fall within reach of an average carpenter's household income, based on home sale prices and carpenter wages.
- Places
- Nation, Metro areas
- Years
- 2012 to 2025
Questions it answers
- What share of entry-level homes can an average carpenter's household afford in my metro?
- Which of the top 100 metros are the most and least affordable for carpenters?
- How has carpenter affordability changed since 2012?
- How does my metro compare with the national picture?
- Where in the country can carpenters afford to buy the homes they build?
Limits
- Covers only the top 100 U.S. metro areas.
- Affordability is measured for entry-level home sales only.
- Carpenter wages come from federal wage survey estimates, and for a few metros (Atlanta, Charleston SC, Chattanooga, Myrtle Beach, North Port and Richmond) the median wage is used instead of the average.
- 2024 wages for Colorado Springs and Denver are estimated as the average of 2023 and 2025.
- The affordable price benchmark is the carpenter wage times 1.3 times 3; the multiplier was changed from 1.5 to 1.3 in November 2024.