Human Resources Managers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$103,803
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$39,187
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$110,266
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
$142,990
Kept after tax
$103,803
Worth in national money
$110,266
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for human resources managers is strong here. North Carolina's middle earner gets $142,990, putting the state 16 of 51 — about 4.21% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations North Carolina reports, human resources managers comes in at 14 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $142,990 you keep $103,803 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $110,266 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $161,060, since top earners drag the number up.
- For human resources managers, North Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $142,990, ranking 16 of 51 and running about 4.21% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Human resources managers ranks 14 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 $103,803 after the full tax stack, from $142,990. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $110,266 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $161,060 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Human Resources Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $90,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $142,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $260,610 |
| This salary | $142,990 |
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 | $103,803 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $109,000 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,903 |
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 | $135,387 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,705 |
| 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 $142,990. The published range is $90,390 up to $260,610, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $103,803, from $142,990, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 14 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $110,266, the adjusted value of that $142,990 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 14 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for human resources managers in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $90,390 to $260,610. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $103,803 from $142,990. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 14 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $110,266 — the adjusted value of that $142,990 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 14 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 $161,060 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 $90,390 at the bottom tenth to $260,610 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $110,266.
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, $103,803 remains.
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 $161,060. 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 ($90,390) and the ninetieth ($260,610) 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 $110,266 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 $103,803 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.