Maintenance Workers, Machinery in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,948
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,632
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,995
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
$60,580
Kept after tax
$48,948
Worth in national money
$51,995
State rank
24
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays maintenance workers, machinery around $60,580 at the midpoint, 24 of 46 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 204.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,580 you keep $48,948, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,995 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $61,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For maintenance workers, machinery the North Carolina median is $60,580, ranking 24 of 46 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, maintenance workers, machinery sits at 204 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for maintenance workers, machinery on $60,580 is $48,948. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,995 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 $61,050 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Maintenance Workers, Machinery
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,230 |
| This salary | $60,580 |
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 | $48,948 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,856 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$339 |
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 | $58,205 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$411 |
| 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 maintenance workers, machinery in North Carolina earn under $60,580 and half over. The published range runs $42,540 at the tenth percentile to $78,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $48,948, from $60,580, 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 204 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 $51,995 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 204.
- Figures are distribution medians for maintenance workers, machinery in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $42,540 to $78,230; 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.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,948 from $60,580. 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 204 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,995, worked from $60,580, 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 204 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $42,540 and the top tenth $78,230, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $51,995 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $48,948.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 ($42,540 to $78,230) 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 $51,995 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 $48,948 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.