2018 Wage & Benefits Study: Philadelphia
Compensation for production crews in Philadelphia are generally at, or ahead of, cost of living for the area. Interestingly, remodelers serving that market are more likely to offer commission to carpenters, with nearly 57% of respondents building it into their pay structure. Also notable was the relatively high number of responses for employees with less than two years’ experience—a much smaller group in most of the other markets. Ten percent of respondents in Philly also serve New York.
While it’s about 20% cheaper to live in Philly than New York, project managers there make only 8% less on average. This means that wages outpace expenses by a good margin. Carpenters are ahead as well, but by a smaller amount. Salaries for lead carpenters track behind cost of living, but only slightly. Production managers average a bit worse, with salaries at 9% under cost of living.
Philadelphia is one of the few markets that has reliable data for staff with less than two years’ experience in their positions. It’s notable that not only does the city pay relatively well compared to cost of living, but newer leads and PMs actually earn a higher wage on average than more experienced staff. This could be because remodelers are offering additional pay to attract employees.
About a quarter of remodeling companies reported that their carpenters had some kind of job-related education. That number increased to nearly 60% for leads and PMs and 80% for production managers—a significantly higher percentage than most other markets. Yet in the case of Philadelphia, the added education didn’t translate into higher wages.
As is the case in New York, production managers are seeing the biggest projected increase. Not surprisingly, carpenters, leads, and project managers with less experience and company tenure with the company have received fewer and smaller raises since 2015.
