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Carpenters pay in Kankakee, IL and Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Carpenters is $95,280 per year in Kankakee, IL. It is $63,050 per year in Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN. Kankakee, IL is 51.1% above Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2031 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 120 wage and salary jobs in Kankakee, IL and 300 in Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings