First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,169
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,391
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,168
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
$59,560
Kept after tax
$48,169
Worth in national money
$51,168
State rank
47
of 50 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 $59,560. That is 47 of 50 states, and about 36.32% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 211 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,560 the take-home is $48,169; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $51,168 would nationally. The average comes to $69,510, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $59,560, ranking 47 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 36.32%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 211 of 489 in North Carolina places first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers 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.
- Post-tax income for first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers in North Carolina, on $59,560, is $48,169 — equivalent to $51,168 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $69,510 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,790 |
| This salary | $59,560 |
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 | $48,169 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,036 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$323 |
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 | $57,236 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$391 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $59,560 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,800 and the ninetieth is $110,790 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $48,169, worked from $59,560. 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 211 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 $51,168, the adjusted value of that $59,560 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 211 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $59,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,800 to $110,790. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Carolina take-home of $48,169, on $59,560 for work ranking 211 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 211 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $51,168 — the adjusted value of that $59,560 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 211 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 $69,510, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $44,800 and the top tenth $110,790 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $51,168.
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 $48,169.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $69,510. 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 ($44,800) and the ninetieth ($110,790) 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 $51,168 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 $48,169 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.