Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,033
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,467
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,840
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
$34,500
Kept after tax
$29,033
Worth in national money
$30,840
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $34,500, 37 of 51 states and about 6.35% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within North Carolina this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 451. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,500 you keep $29,033, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $30,840 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $34,090, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Carolina's $34,500 median for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners places it 37 of 51 states, about 6.35% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation North Carolina reports, janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ranks 451 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners on $34,500 is $29,033. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $30,840 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 $34,090 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,430 |
| This salary | $34,500 |
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 | $29,033 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$70 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $33,420 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$85 |
| 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 janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners in North Carolina earn under $34,500 and half over. The published range runs $25,740 at the tenth percentile to $42,430 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $29,033 take-home in North Carolina comes from $34,500. 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 451 of 489.
- Two cautions on $30,840, the adjusted value of that $34,500 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 451 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $25,740 to $42,430; 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.
- Retained pay of $29,033, from $34,500, 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 451 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- This $30,840 adjusted figure, worked from $34,500, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 451 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 451 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $25,740 at the tenth percentile, $42,430 at the ninetieth.
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 $30,840.
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, $29,033 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($25,740 to $42,430) 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 $30,840 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 $29,033 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.