Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,516
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,474
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,727
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
$42,990
Kept after tax
$35,516
Worth in national money
$37,727
State rank
44
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $42,990, ranking 44 of 48 states — about 12.48% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Carolina, this one sits low: 382 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $42,990 the take-home is $35,516; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,727 would nationally. The average comes to $44,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 44 of 48 for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall, with a median of $42,990 — about 12.48% 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.
- Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall occupies position 382 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.
- Post-tax income for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall in North Carolina, on $42,990, is $35,516 — equivalent to $37,727 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 $44,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,080 |
| This salary | $42,990 |
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 | $35,516 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,722 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$63 |
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 | $41,488 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$76 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $42,990 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,110 and the ninetieth is $60,080 — 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 $35,516, worked from $42,990. 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 382 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,727 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 382.
- The North Carolina median of $42,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,110 to $60,080. 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 $35,516, on $42,990 for work ranking 382 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 382 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,727, worked from $42,990, 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 382 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,110 at the bottom tenth to $60,080 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,727 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $35,516 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 48 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 ($31,110 to $60,080) 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 $37,727 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 $35,516 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.