Construction Laborers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,837
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,883
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,130
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
$44,720
Kept after tax
$36,837
Worth in national money
$39,130
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for construction laborers. The middle earner takes $44,720, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 5.09% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 358 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $44,720 the take-home is $36,837; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $39,130 would nationally. The average comes to $45,250, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 39 of 51 for construction laborers, with a median of $44,720 — about 5.09% 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.
- Construction laborers ranks 358 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.
- Post-tax income for construction laborers in North Carolina, on $44,720, is $36,837 — equivalent to $39,130 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 $45,250 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,970 |
| This salary | $44,720 |
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 | $36,837 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,113 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$90 |
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 | $43,132 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$109 |
| 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 construction laborers in North Carolina earn under $44,720 and half over. The published range runs $31,850 at the tenth percentile to $59,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $36,837, worked from $44,720. 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 358 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 $39,130, the adjusted value of that $44,720 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 358 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for construction laborers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,850 to $59,970; 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.
- The North Carolina take-home of $36,837, on $44,720 for work ranking 358 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 358 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $39,130 — the adjusted value of that $44,720 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 358 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,850 and the top tenth $59,970, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $39,130 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $36,837 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,850 to $59,970) 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 $39,130 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 $36,837 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.