Clergy in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,199
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,401
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,200
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
$59,600
Kept after tax
$48,199
Worth in national money
$51,200
State rank
27
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for clergy. The median is $59,600, ranking 27 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 210 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,600 you keep $48,199 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,200 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $61,130, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for clergy: a median of $59,600, ranking 27 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Clergy ranks 210 of 489 occupations in North Carolina by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $48,199 after the full tax stack, from $59,600. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,200 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $61,130 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,350 |
| This salary | $59,600 |
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 | $48,199 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,069 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$324 |
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 | $57,274 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$392 |
| 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 $59,600. The published range is $39,880 up to $82,350, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,199 take-home in North Carolina comes from $59,600. 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 210 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,200 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 210.
- Reported values are medians; for clergy in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,880 to $82,350. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,199, from $59,600, 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 210 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,200, worked from $59,600, 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 210 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,880 and the top tenth $82,350, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $51,200.
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 $48,199.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,880 to $82,350) 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 $51,200 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 $48,199 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.