Machinists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,862
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,368
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,655
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
$55,230
Kept after tax
$44,862
Worth in national money
$47,655
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for machinists is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $55,230. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 5.99% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 249.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $55,230 the take-home is $44,862; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $47,655 would nationally. The average lands at $54,880, below the middle of the range.
- For machinists, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $55,230, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.99%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, machinists sits at 249 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for machinists in North Carolina, on $55,230, is $44,862 — equivalent to $47,655 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 $54,880 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Machinists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,570 |
| This salary | $55,230 |
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 | $44,862 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,557 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$255 |
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 | $53,121 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$309 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $55,230. The published range is $37,110 up to $75,570, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $44,862, from $55,230, 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 249 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $47,655, the adjusted value of that $55,230 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 249 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for machinists in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,110 to $75,570. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $44,862 from $55,230. 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 249 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $47,655 — the adjusted value of that $55,230 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 249 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,110 at the bottom tenth to $75,570 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. North Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $47,655 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $44,862 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($37,110 to $75,570) 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 $47,655 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 $44,862 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.