Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,620
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,460
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,834
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
$64,080
Kept after tax
$51,620
Worth in national money
$54,834
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $64,080, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 166 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $64,080 you keep $51,620, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,834 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $66,150, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines: a median of $64,080, ranking 30 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 166 of 489 in North Carolina places mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines on $64,080 is $51,620. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,834 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 $66,150 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $87,660 |
| This salary | $64,080 |
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 | $51,620 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,668 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$394 |
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 | $61,531 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$477 |
| 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 mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines in North Carolina earn under $64,080 and half over. The published range runs $47,140 at the tenth percentile to $87,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $51,620, worked from $64,080. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 166 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $54,834, the adjusted value of that $64,080 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 166 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,140 to $87,660; 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.
- The North Carolina take-home of $51,620, on $64,080 for work ranking 166 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 166 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $54,834 — the adjusted value of that $64,080 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 166 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $66,150, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,140 at the tenth percentile, $87,660 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 $54,834.
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 $51,620 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in North Carolina is $66,150. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,140 to $87,660) 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 $54,834 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 $51,620 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.