Emergency Management Directors in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,611
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$22,229
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,069
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
$93,840
Kept after tax
$71,611
Worth in national money
$76,069
State rank
19
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 19 of 47 states for this job, with a middle wage of $93,840. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Carolina. It ranks 77 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $93,840 you keep $71,611, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $76,069 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $98,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 19 of 47 for emergency management directors at $93,840. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within North Carolina, emergency management directors ranks 77 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for emergency management directors on $93,840 is $71,611. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $76,069 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 $98,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Emergency Management Directors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,980 |
| This salary | $93,840 |
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 | $71,611 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,846 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$953 |
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 | $89,241 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,316 |
| 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 emergency management directors in North Carolina earn under $93,840 and half over. The published range runs $66,800 at the tenth percentile to $129,980 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 $71,611, worked from $93,840. 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 77 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 $76,069, the adjusted value of that $93,840 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 77 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for emergency management directors in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $66,800 to $129,980; 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 $71,611, on $93,840 for work ranking 77 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 77 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $76,069 — the adjusted value of that $93,840 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 77 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 $98,680, 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 — $66,800 at the tenth percentile, $129,980 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. North Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $76,069 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $71,611.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $98,680. 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 ($66,800 to $129,980) 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 $76,069 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 $71,611 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.