Community Health Workers in North Carolina

Two armchairs facing each other in a welcoming counseling room.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$39,006

after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax

Tax takes

$8,554

18.0% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$41,434

North Carolina costs less than average

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

$47,560

Kept after tax

$39,006

Worth in national money

$41,434

State rank

41

of 51 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for community health workers. The middle earner takes $47,560, ranking 41 of 51 states — about 8.27% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 318.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $47,560 you keep $39,006 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $41,434 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $50,160, since top earners drag the number up.
  • North Carolina ranks 41 of 51 for community health workers, with a median of $47,560 — about 8.27% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
  • In North Carolina's occupational distribution, community health workers sits at 318 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.
  • Retained pay in North Carolina is $39,006 after the full tax stack, from $47,560. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $41,434 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $50,160 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.

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Pay band: Community Health Workers

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$36,160
Half earn under$47,560
Top tenth earn over$68,380
This salary$47,560

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

Compare with
+$1,389take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in North Carolina$39,006
Take-home in Texas$40,394
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity+$135

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

Moving to
$0now · $47,560$47,397
$47,397in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$45,831
You could take a cut of−$163
Prices in Texas97 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 $47,560. The published range is $36,160 up to $68,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
  • In North Carolina the take-home figure of $39,006, from $47,560, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 318 of 489 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,434, the adjusted value of that $47,560 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 318 of 489 in the state.
  • Reported values are medians; for community health workers in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,160 to $68,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,006 from $47,560. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 318 of 489 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $41,434 — the adjusted value of that $47,560 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 318 of 489 locally.

Questions people ask

Is this the average pay for the job?

It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $50,160, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,160 at the tenth percentile, $68,380 at the ninetieth.

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 $41,434.

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, $39,006 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.

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 $50,160. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,160 to $68,380) 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 $41,434 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 $39,006 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.