Human Resources Specialists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,828
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$15,242
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,428
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
$73,070
Kept after tax
$57,828
Worth in national money
$61,428
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for human resources specialists. The median is $73,070, ranking 20 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Human resources specialists ranks 141 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $73,070 you keep $57,828, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $61,428 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $79,450, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for human resources specialists: a median of $73,070, ranking 20 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.
- Position 141 of 489 in North Carolina places human resources specialists 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for human resources specialists on $73,070 is $57,828. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $61,428 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 $79,450 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Human Resources Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $126,000 |
| This salary | $73,070 |
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 | $57,828 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,235 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$558 |
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 | $69,649 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$770 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $73,070 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $46,760 and the ninetieth is $126,000 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $57,828, from $73,070, 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 141 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,428 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 141.
- The North Carolina median of $73,070 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $46,760 to $126,000. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $57,828 from $73,070. 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 141 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,428, worked from $73,070, 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 141 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $79,450, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $46,760 and the top tenth $126,000 — 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 $61,428.
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, $57,828 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 $79,450. 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 ($46,760) and the ninetieth ($126,000) 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 $61,428 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 $57,828 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.