Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,001
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,649
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,052
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
$60,650
Kept after tax
$49,001
Worth in national money
$52,052
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays this job around $60,650 at the midpoint, 34 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 202.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,650 you keep $49,001, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,052 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $62,140, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For clinical laboratory technologists and technicians the North Carolina median is $60,650, ranking 34 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians sits at 202 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians on $60,650 is $49,001. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,052 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $62,140 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,490 |
| This salary | $60,650 |
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 | $49,001 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,912 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$341 |
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 | $58,271 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$412 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,650 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,860 and the ninetieth is $86,490 — 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 $49,001, worked from $60,650. 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 202 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,052 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 202.
- The North Carolina median of $60,650 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,860 to $86,490. 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 $49,001, on $60,650 for work ranking 202 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 202 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,052, worked from $60,650, 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 202 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $39,860, the highest tenth $86,490, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $52,052.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $49,001 remains.
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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($39,860) and the ninetieth ($86,490) 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 $52,052 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 $49,001 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.