Engineers, All Other in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$83,961
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$28,489
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$89,188
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
$112,450
Kept after tax
$83,961
Worth in national money
$89,188
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for engineers, all other. The median is $112,450, ranking 28 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations North Carolina reports, engineers, all other comes in at 39 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $112,450 you keep $83,961 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $89,188 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $117,080, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for engineers, all other: a median of $112,450, ranking 28 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Engineers, all other ranks 39 of 489 occupations by median in North Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $83,961 after the full tax stack, from $112,450. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $89,188 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $117,080 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Engineers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $112,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $173,370 |
| This salary | $112,450 |
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 | $83,961 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $87,939 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,307 |
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 | $106,795 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,806 |
| 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 engineers, all other in North Carolina earn under $112,450 and half over. The published range runs $63,130 at the tenth percentile to $173,370 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 $83,961, worked from $112,450. 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 39 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $89,188 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 39.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineers, all other in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,130 to $173,370; 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 $83,961, on $112,450 for work ranking 39 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 39 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $89,188, worked from $112,450, 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 39 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $117,080 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $63,130 at the bottom tenth to $173,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $89,188 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 $83,961.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $117,080. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,130) and the ninetieth ($173,370) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $89,188 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 $83,961 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.