Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,477
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,153
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,624
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
$41,630
Kept after tax
$34,477
Worth in national money
$36,624
State rank
39
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $41,630, ranking 39 of 49 states — about 6.13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Carolina, this one sits low: 388 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $41,630 you keep $34,477 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,624 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $43,880, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina ranks 39 of 49 for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, with a median of $41,630 — about 6.13% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic occupies position 388 of 489 in North Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $34,477 after the full tax stack, from $41,630. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,624 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $43,880 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,170 |
| This salary | $41,630 |
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 | $34,477 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,630 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$42 |
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 | $40,196 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$50 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $41,630 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,370 and the ninetieth is $59,170 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $34,477, from $41,630, 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 388 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 $36,624 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 388.
- The North Carolina median of $41,630 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,370 to $59,170. 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 $34,477 from $41,630. 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 388 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,624, worked from $41,630, 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 388 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $43,880 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,370 at the bottom tenth to $59,170 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,624.
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 $34,477 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $43,880. 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 ($31,370 to $59,170) 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 $36,624 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 $34,477 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.