Industrial Machinery Mechanics in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,360
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,070
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,496
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
$62,430
Kept after tax
$50,360
Worth in national money
$53,496
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $62,430, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 3.24% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 184 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,430 you keep $50,360, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,496 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,540, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 39 of 51 for industrial machinery mechanics, with a median of $62,430 — about 3.24% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 184 of 489 in North Carolina places industrial machinery mechanics 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 industrial machinery mechanics on $62,430 is $50,360. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,496 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 $63,540 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Industrial Machinery Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,970 |
| This salary | $62,430 |
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 | $50,360 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,343 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$369 |
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 | $59,963 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$446 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of industrial machinery mechanics in North Carolina earn under $62,430 and half over. The published range runs $43,550 at the tenth percentile to $81,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $50,360, worked from $62,430. 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 184 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 $53,496, the adjusted value of that $62,430 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 184 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for industrial machinery mechanics in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,550 to $81,970; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The North Carolina take-home of $50,360, on $62,430 for work ranking 184 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 184 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $53,496 — the adjusted value of that $62,430 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 184 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $43,550 and the top tenth $81,970, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $53,496.
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, $50,360 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,550 to $81,970) 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 $53,496 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 $50,360 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.