Couriers and Messengers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,545
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,555
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,572
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
$39,100
Kept after tax
$32,545
Worth in national money
$34,572
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays couriers and messengers around $39,100 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 489 occupations North Carolina publishes, couriers and messengers lands at 406. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $39,100 you keep $32,545 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,572 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $38,830.
- For couriers and messengers the North Carolina median is $39,100, ranking 24 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.
- Within North Carolina, this work ranks 406 of 489 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $32,545 after the full tax stack, from $39,100. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,572 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,830 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,280 |
| This salary | $39,100 |
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 | $32,545 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,597 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2 |
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 | $37,792 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $39,100 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,120 and the ninetieth is $47,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $32,545, from $39,100, 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 406 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 $34,572, the adjusted value of that $39,100 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 406 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $39,100 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,120 to $47,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,545 from $39,100. 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 406 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $34,572 — the adjusted value of that $39,100 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 406 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,120 and the top tenth $47,280, 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 $34,572.
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, $32,545 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 ($28,120 to $47,280) 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 $34,572 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 $32,545 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.