Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,164
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$14,906
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,723
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
$72,070
Kept after tax
$57,164
Worth in national money
$60,723
State rank
33
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $72,070. That is 33 of 49 states, and about 8.02% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 142 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $72,070 you keep $57,164, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $60,723 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $71,540, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $72,070, ranking 33 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 8.02%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 142 of 489 in North Carolina places engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other on $72,070 is $57,164. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $60,723 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 $71,540 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,900 |
| This salary | $72,070 |
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 | $57,164 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,531 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$539 |
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 | $68,706 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$744 |
| 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 engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in North Carolina earn under $72,070 and half over. The published range runs $47,970 at the tenth percentile to $98,900 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $57,164 take-home in North Carolina comes from $72,070. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 142 of 489.
- Two cautions on $60,723, the adjusted value of that $72,070 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 142 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,970 to $98,900; 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.
- Retained pay of $57,164, from $72,070, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 142 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 49 for it.
- This $60,723 adjusted figure, worked from $72,070, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 142 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 142 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,970 and the top tenth $98,900, 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 $60,723.
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 $57,164.
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 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,970 to $98,900) 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 $60,723 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 $57,164 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.