Helpers--Carpenters in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,645
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,895
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,740
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
$40,540
Kept after tax
$33,645
Worth in national money
$35,740
State rank
26
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays helpers--carpenters around $40,540 at the midpoint, 26 of 47 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Measured against other jobs in North Carolina, this one sits low: 391 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $40,540 you keep $33,645, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,740 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $40,420, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For helpers--carpenters the North Carolina median is $40,540, ranking 26 of 47 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Helpers--carpenters occupies position 391 of 489 in North Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for helpers--carpenters on $40,540 is $33,645. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,740 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 $40,420 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,680 |
| This salary | $40,540 |
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 | $33,645 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,754 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$24 |
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 | $39,160 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$30 |
| 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 $40,540. The published range is $29,920 up to $48,680, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $33,645 take-home in North Carolina comes from $40,540. 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 391 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,740 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 391.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--carpenters in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,920 to $48,680. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $33,645, from $40,540, 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 391 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,740, worked from $40,540, 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 391 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,920 at the bottom tenth to $48,680 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,740 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $33,645 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,920 to $48,680) 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 $35,740 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 $33,645 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.