Montana needs
carpenters for its data centers
Montana is building 1 GW of new data centers. Here is how much carpenters work that makes — and why there are not enough carpenters for it.
Carpenters for Montana's data centers: about 730 to spare.
Will Montana have enough workers?
At the busiest point of the build. Bars to the left mean a shortage (good if you are in that trade). Bars to the right mean workers to spare.
What this means for carpenters in Montana
Montana is building 1 GW of new AI data centers across 1 sites. On a data center, carpenters pour the concrete and frame the building.
Carpenters — could go either way. The data centers need about 330 carpenters, and Montana has about 1,060 free for this kind of work. Enough to mostly cover it, but it will be busy, with some overtime.
Montana has 1 data-center sites in the works, with 1 GW still to build. That keeps carpenters busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.
Montana carpenters earn about $58,110 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced carpenters well over $100,000 a year, with health care and a pension through the union.
It is the same across the country: builders cannot find enough skilled workers. The U.S. needs about 140,000 more trade workers by 2030 to build all the data centers, and most builders say hiring is their hardest problem. Microsoft's president has called the shortage of electricians the biggest thing slowing data centers down.
The building work runs a few years, not forever — but Montana has enough lined up to keep you busy, and the skills carry over to every other big job in the state. To start, look at the Montana carpenters apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.
Get carpenters job updates for Montana
New Montana data-center sites, tips on getting hired, and pay updates for carpenters.
READ THE NATIONAL CARPENTERS SWITCH GUIDE -- $9
National carpenters training, pay, and licensing context. This is not a Montana-specific paid guide.
MONTANA PROGRAMS
The Montana carpenters apprenticeship programs, schools, and licensing path.
The data centers behind these numbers
- Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus – Yellowstone County — Quantica Infrastructure / Big Sky Digital Infrastructure (BSDI), 30 miles north of Billings (1 GW)