Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,588
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,902
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,489
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
$57,490
Kept after tax
$46,588
Worth in national money
$49,489
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $57,490, 44 of 51 states and about 6.93% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 231 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,490 you keep $46,588 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $49,489 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $57,910, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina's $57,490 median for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists places it 44 of 51 states, about 6.93% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 231 of 489 in North Carolina places bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $46,588 after the full tax stack, from $57,490. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $49,489 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $57,910 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,240 |
| This salary | $57,490 |
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 | $46,588 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,373 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$291 |
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 | $55,268 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$352 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $57,490. The published range is $39,890 up to $76,240, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $46,588 take-home in North Carolina comes from $57,490. 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 231 of 489.
- Two cautions on $49,489, the adjusted value of that $57,490 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 231 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,890 to $76,240. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $46,588, from $57,490, 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 231 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- This $49,489 adjusted figure, worked from $57,490, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 231 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 231 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,890 at the bottom tenth to $76,240 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $49,489 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $46,588.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,890 to $76,240) 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 $49,489 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 $46,588 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.