Medical Equipment Preparers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,150
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,980
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,463
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
$45,130
Kept after tax
$37,150
Worth in national money
$39,463
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for medical equipment preparers is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $45,130. That is 37 of 51 states, and about 5.39% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 352 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,130 the take-home is $37,150; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $39,463 would nationally. The average comes to $46,220, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For medical equipment preparers, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $45,130, ranking 37 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.39%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Medical equipment preparers ranks 352 of 489 occupations in North Carolina by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for medical equipment preparers in North Carolina, on $45,130, is $37,150 — equivalent to $39,463 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 $46,220 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Equipment Preparers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,950 |
| This salary | $45,130 |
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 | $37,150 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,442 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$97 |
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 | $43,522 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$117 |
| 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 medical equipment preparers in North Carolina earn under $45,130 and half over. The published range runs $36,410 at the tenth percentile to $58,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $37,150, from $45,130, 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 352 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 $39,463 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 352.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical equipment preparers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,410 to $58,950; 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 $37,150 from $45,130. 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 352 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,463, worked from $45,130, 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 352 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,410 and the top tenth $58,950, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $39,463 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, $37,150 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 ($36,410 to $58,950) 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 $39,463 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 $37,150 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.