Audiologists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,346
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$20,574
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,601
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$88,920
Kept after tax
$68,346
Worth in national money
$72,601
State rank
37
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for audiologists. The middle earner takes $88,920, ranking 37 of 49 states — about 7.16% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations North Carolina reports, audiologists comes in at 85 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $88,920 you keep $68,346, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $72,601 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $94,950, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 37 of 49 for audiologists, with a median of $88,920 — about 7.16% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Audiologists ranks 85 of 489 occupations by median in North Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for audiologists on $88,920 is $68,346. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $72,601 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $94,950 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Audiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $70,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,210 |
| This salary | $88,920 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in North Carolina | $68,346 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $71,385 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$859 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $84,600 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,187 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $88,920 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $70,120 and the ninetieth is $131,210 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $68,346, worked from $88,920. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 85 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,601 uses one figure for the whole of North Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 85.
- The North Carolina median of $88,920 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $70,120 to $131,210. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Carolina take-home of $68,346, on $88,920 for work ranking 85 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 85 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,601, worked from $88,920, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular North Carolina address, on work sitting at 85 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $94,950, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $70,120 at the bottom tenth to $131,210 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $72,601.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $68,346.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in North Carolina is $94,950. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($70,120 to $131,210) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $72,601 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $68,346 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.