North Carolina needs
carpenters for its data centers
North Carolina is building 2.7 GW of new data centers. Here is how much carpenters work that makes — and why there are not enough carpenters for it.
Carpenters for North Carolina's data centers: about 2,458 to spare.
Will North Carolina 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 North Carolina
North Carolina is building 2.7 GW of new AI data centers across 13 sites. On a data center, carpenters pour the concrete and frame the building.
Carpenters — probably not, just for this. The data centers need about 894 carpenters, and North Carolina already has about 3,352 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.
North Carolina has 13 data-center sites in the works, with 2.7 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.
North Carolina carpenters earn about $47,630 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina
New North Carolina 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 North Carolina-specific paid guide.
NORTH CAROLINA PROGRAMS
The North Carolina carpenters apprenticeship programs, schools, and licensing path.
The data centers behind these numbers
- Microsoft Person County Campus — Microsoft, Roxboro (1 GW)
- Microsoft Catawba County Campus — Microsoft, Conover (810 MW)
- Digital Realty Charlotte Campus (CLT20) — Digital Realty, Charlotte (400 MW)
- PowerHouse Charlotte Campus — PowerHouse Data Centers, Charlotte (300 MW)
- Apple Maiden Data Center Campus — Apple, Maiden (224 MW)
- WhiteFiber NC-1 Madison Campus — WhiteFiber, Madison (99 MW)