Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,297
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$9,883
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,993
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
$53,180
Kept after tax
$43,297
Worth in national money
$45,993
State rank
40
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $53,180, 40 of 50 states and about 15.16% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 256 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $53,180 the take-home is $43,297; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,993 would nationally. The average lands at $53,120, below the middle of the range.
- North Carolina's $53,180 median for kindergarten teachers, except special education places it 40 of 50 states, about 15.16% 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.
- Position 256 of 489 in North Carolina places kindergarten teachers, except special education 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.
- Post-tax income for kindergarten teachers, except special education in North Carolina, on $53,180, is $43,297 — equivalent to $45,993 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 $53,120 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,620 |
| This salary | $53,180 |
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 | $43,297 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,910 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$223 |
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 | $51,172 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$270 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $53,180 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $40,760 and the ninetieth is $63,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $43,297, from $53,180, 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 256 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 $45,993 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 256.
- The North Carolina median of $53,180 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $40,760 to $63,620. 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 $43,297 from $53,180. 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 256 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,993, worked from $53,180, 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 256 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,760 at the tenth percentile, $63,620 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 $45,993.
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, $43,297 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,760 to $63,620) 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 $45,993 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 $43,297 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.