Carpenters in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,181
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,919
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,683
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
$49,100
Kept after tax
$40,181
Worth in national money
$42,683
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays carpenters a middle wage of $49,100, 44 of 51 states and about 18.95% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 293.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $49,100 the take-home is $40,181; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,683 would nationally. The average comes to $50,510, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina's $49,100 median for carpenters places it 44 of 51 states, about 18.95% 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.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, carpenters sits at 293 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for carpenters in North Carolina, on $49,100, is $40,181 — equivalent to $42,683 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 $50,510 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,160 |
| This salary | $49,100 |
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 | $40,181 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,632 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$159 |
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 | $47,295 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$192 |
| 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 carpenters in North Carolina earn under $49,100 and half over. The published range runs $35,620 at the tenth percentile to $63,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $40,181 take-home in North Carolina comes from $49,100. 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 293 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 $42,683, the adjusted value of that $49,100 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 293 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for carpenters in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,620 to $63,160; 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 $40,181, from $49,100, 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 293 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $42,683 — the adjusted value of that $49,100 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 293 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,620 at the bottom tenth to $63,160 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 $42,683 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $40,181 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,620 to $63,160) 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 $42,683 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 $40,181 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.