Nurse Practitioners in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$94,793
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$34,197
26.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$100,694
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
$128,990
Kept after tax
$94,793
Worth in national money
$100,694
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for nurse practitioners. The middle earner takes $128,990, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 2.5% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, nurse practitioners ranks 26 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $128,990 you keep $94,793, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $100,694 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $130,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 38 of 51 for nurse practitioners, with a median of $128,990 — about 2.5% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, nurse practitioners sits 26 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for nurse practitioners on $128,990 is $94,793. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $100,694 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 $130,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nurse Practitioners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $103,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $164,320 |
| This salary | $128,990 |
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 | $94,793 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,431 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,627 |
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 | $122,204 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,313 |
| 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 nurse practitioners in North Carolina earn under $128,990 and half over. The published range runs $103,530 at the tenth percentile to $164,320 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $94,793 take-home in North Carolina comes from $128,990. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 26 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 $100,694, the adjusted value of that $128,990 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 26 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for nurse practitioners in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $103,530 to $164,320; 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.
- Retained pay of $94,793, from $128,990, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 26 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $100,694 — the adjusted value of that $128,990 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 26 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $103,530 and the top tenth $164,320, 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 $100,694 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 $94,793.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($103,530 to $164,320) 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 $100,694 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 $94,793 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.