Nursing Assistants in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,057
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,403
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,053
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
$38,460
Kept after tax
$32,057
Worth in national money
$34,053
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for nursing assistants. The middle earner takes $38,460, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 8.99% 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: 414 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,460 you keep $32,057, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,053 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,280, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 36 of 51 for nursing assistants, with a median of $38,460 — about 8.99% 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.
- Nursing assistants occupies position 414 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for nursing assistants on $38,460 is $32,057. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,053 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 $39,280 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,080 |
| This salary | $38,460 |
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 | $32,057 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,083 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$8 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $37,183 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$10 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $38,460. The published range is $30,260 up to $47,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,057 take-home in North Carolina comes from $38,460. 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 414 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 $34,053, the adjusted value of that $38,460 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 414 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for nursing assistants in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,260 to $47,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,057, from $38,460, 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 414 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $34,053 — the adjusted value of that $38,460 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 414 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,260 at the tenth percentile, $47,080 at the ninetieth.
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 $34,053 in national terms.
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 $32,057 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($30,260 to $47,080) 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 $34,053 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 $32,057 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.