Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,537
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$18,643
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,555
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
$83,180
Kept after tax
$64,537
Worth in national money
$68,555
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $83,180, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 21.43% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 95 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $83,180 you keep $64,537 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $68,555 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $90,740, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina ranks 49 of 51 for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary, with a median of $83,180 — about 21.43% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, education administrators, kindergarten through secondary sits 95 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $64,537 after the full tax stack, from $83,180. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,555 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $90,740 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,380 |
| This salary | $83,180 |
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 | $64,537 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,347 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$750 |
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 | $79,185 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,036 |
| 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 $83,180. The published range is $63,240 up to $121,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $64,537, worked from $83,180. 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 95 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,555 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 95.
- Reported values are medians; for education administrators, kindergarten through secondary in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,240 to $121,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Carolina take-home of $64,537, on $83,180 for work ranking 95 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 95 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,555, worked from $83,180, 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 95 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $90,740, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $63,240 and the top tenth $121,380, 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 $68,555 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $64,537 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $90,740. 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 ($63,240 to $121,380) 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 $68,555 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 $64,537 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.