Woodworking Statistics

[Rich Riddle]

I was reading woodworking statistics and had to wonder about the accuracy. Fine Woodworking says the average woodworker that reads their magazine makes about $122,000 annually and spends $8800 on the hobby each year. It also says we average 50 - 55 years of age. Another study found it's mostly men and a well-educated Caucasian hobby.

[Randy Reitz]

I'll have to start reading FW again. I'm drastically underpaid.

[Andrew Joiner]

According to Fine Woodworking I'm below average. According to the people who see my work I'm a guru.
I've read nearly every Fine Woodworking issue from #1 in 1975 to now. I still love the magazine. It's fun to see quality images of the craft and other shops.

[julian abram]

Hmm, kinda hard to believe. That's about the average salary for an engineering professor in our department.

[Matt Day]

Is that household income?
I wish I had $8800 to spend each year!

[Bruce Page]

I'll have to start reading FW again. I'm drastically underpaid.

You and me both, bruddah!

[Dan Hintz]

Fine Woodworking says the average woodworker that reads their magazine and fills out their surveys makes about $122,000 annually and spends $8800 on the hobby each year. It also says we average 50 - 55 years of age. Another study found it's mostly men and a well-educated Caucasian hobby.

Fixed that for you, so it should make more sense now...

[Rick Potter]

Hmmm. Since I am 20 years over their average age, I should have spent about $176,000 on it in the last 20 years. Guess I'd better get busy.

Wait till I tell my wife.

[Frederick Skelly]

Is that household income?
I wish I had $8800 to spend each year!

Me too. Folks that read FWW are sure high rollers.

[Rod Sheridan]

I was reading woodworking statistics and had to wonder about the accuracy. Fine Woodworking says the average woodworker that reads their magazine makes about $122,000 annually and spends $8800 on the hobby each year. It also says we average 50 - 55 years of age. Another study found it's mostly men and a well-educated Caucasian hobby.

Fits my demographics, and observations of people I know and events I've gone to.

I don't know about the annual expenditure, I put 10% of my income to hobbies for both of us.

I live in a large city, most young people live in apartments or condominiums, hard to be a woodworker without a lot of motivation and effort for those people.

My daughter had a party at her condo, nobody belived that she had made her dining room table, apparently you can only buy furniture........Rod/

[Mel Fulks]

I predict that in speed dating " I subscribe to Fine Woodworking" will become a most popular phrase.

[Rod Sheridan]

Fixed that for you, so it should make more sense now...

Good point Dan, however it does fit my observations about woodworkers I know, except of course for the retired ones, who had salaries in that range.

Regards, Rod.

[Charlie Velasquez]

This is not hard to believe.
First many of the tools are not inexpensive, so as a hobby we can eliminate the indigent.
So, let's say we bottom out at $30,000-$40,000/year (remember, these are people that take this up as a hobby and aspire to be inspired by FWW).

But, there is no upper limit. Whenever you have a limit on one end, you no longer have a normal distribution.
If there was a couple of millionaires that filled out the survey that immediately skews the distribution.

it might be more informative if they gave the median numbers instead.

[Jim Koepke]

My daughter had a party at her condo, nobody belived that she had made her dining room table, apparently you can only buy furniture........

People amaze me all the time. Often when they see things made in my shop for sale at the farmers market the look at me with a strange look and ask, "where can you buy wood?"

Some folks do not even realize one of the most important industries in this state is lumber.

jtk

[Brian Kent]

There is probably some self-selecting going on. This may be the average of those who subscribe who also took the time to fill out the survey and are pretty excited about how much they spent last year.