Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$55,884
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$14,256
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,363
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
$70,140
Kept after tax
$55,884
Worth in national money
$59,363
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 22 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $70,140. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 144 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $70,140 you keep $55,884 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $59,363 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $72,520, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina ranks 22 of 51 for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $70,140. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 144 of 489 in North Carolina places executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants 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.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $55,884 after the full tax stack, from $70,140. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $59,363 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $72,520 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $70,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,710 |
| This salary | $70,140 |
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 | $55,884 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $58,173 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$502 |
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 | $66,885 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$693 |
| 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 $70,140. The published range is $49,720 up to $99,710, 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 $55,884, worked from $70,140. 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 144 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $59,363 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 144.
- Reported values are medians; for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,720 to $99,710. 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 $55,884, on $70,140 for work ranking 144 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 144 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $59,363, worked from $70,140, 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 144 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 $72,520, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,720 and the top tenth $99,710, 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 $59,363 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $55,884.
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.
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 $72,520. 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 ($49,720 to $99,710) 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 $59,363 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 $55,884 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.