Office Machine Operators, Except Computer in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,654
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,826
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,936
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
$44,480
Kept after tax
$36,654
Worth in national money
$38,936
State rank
12
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. North Carolina's middle earner gets $44,480, putting the state 12 of 47 — about 8.59% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 364 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $44,480 the take-home is $36,654; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $38,936 would nationally. The average lands at $42,490, below the middle of the range.
- For office machine operators, except computer, North Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,480, ranking 12 of 47 and running about 8.59% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Position 364 of 489 in North Carolina places office machine operators, except computer 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.
- Post-tax income for office machine operators, except computer in North Carolina, on $44,480, is $36,654 — equivalent to $38,936 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 $42,490 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,680 |
| This salary | $44,480 |
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 | $36,654 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,920 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$86 |
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 | $42,904 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$104 |
| 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 office machine operators, except computer in North Carolina earn under $44,480 and half over. The published range runs $31,200 at the tenth percentile to $49,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $36,654, from $44,480, 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 364 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,936, the adjusted value of that $44,480 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 364 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for office machine operators, except computer in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,200 to $49,680; 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 $36,654 from $44,480. 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 364 of 489 locally.
- This $38,936 adjusted figure, worked from $44,480, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 364 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 364 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 $42,490, 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 — $31,200 at the tenth percentile, $49,680 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 $38,936.
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 $36,654.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 $42,490. 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 ($31,200 to $49,680) 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 $38,936 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 $36,654 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.