Bakers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,041
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,469
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,849
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
$34,510
Kept after tax
$29,041
Worth in national money
$30,849
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for bakers. The middle earner takes $34,510, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 7.13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Carolina, this one sits low: 450 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $34,510 the take-home is $29,041; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $30,849 would nationally. The average lands at $33,750, below the middle of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 39 of 51 for bakers, with a median of $34,510 — about 7.13% 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.
- Bakers occupies position 450 of 489 in North Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for bakers in North Carolina, on $34,510, is $29,041 — equivalent to $30,849 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $33,750 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,800 |
| This salary | $34,510 |
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 | $29,041 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,909 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$70 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $33,429 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$85 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bakers in North Carolina earn under $34,510 and half over. The published range runs $19,690 at the tenth percentile to $45,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $29,041 take-home in North Carolina comes from $34,510. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 450 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,849, the adjusted value of that $34,510 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 450 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bakers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $19,690 to $45,800; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $29,041, from $34,510, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 450 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $30,849 — the adjusted value of that $34,510 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 450 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $19,690 at the bottom tenth to $45,800 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $30,849.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,041 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($19,690) and the ninetieth ($45,800) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $30,849 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 $29,041 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.