Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,511
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$17,109
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,341
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
$78,620
Kept after tax
$61,511
Worth in national money
$65,341
State rank
40
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $78,620. That is 40 of 48 states, and about 15.69% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 111 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $78,620 the take-home is $61,511; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $65,341 would nationally. The average comes to $90,050, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For chemistry teachers, postsecondary, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $78,620, ranking 40 of 48 and trailing the national median by about 15.69%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, chemistry teachers, postsecondary sits 111 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in North Carolina, on $78,620, is $61,511 — equivalent to $65,341 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 $90,050 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $134,210 |
| This salary | $78,620 |
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 | $61,511 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,139 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$663 |
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 | $74,884 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$916 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $78,620 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $52,190 and the ninetieth is $134,210 — 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 $61,511, worked from $78,620. 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 111 of 489.
- Two cautions on $65,341, the adjusted value of that $78,620 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 111 of 489 locally.
- The North Carolina median of $78,620 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $52,190 to $134,210. 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 $61,511, on $78,620 for work ranking 111 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 111 of 489 in the state.
- This $65,341 adjusted figure, worked from $78,620, 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 111 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 111 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $90,050 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $52,190 and the top tenth $134,210 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $65,341.
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 $61,511.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $90,050. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($52,190) and the ninetieth ($134,210) 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 $65,341 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 $61,511 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.