Operations Research Analysts in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,900
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$23,390
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,501
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
$97,290
Kept after tax
$73,900
Worth in national money
$78,501
State rank
15
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for operations research analysts is strong here. North Carolina's middle earner gets $97,290, putting the state 15 of 47 — about 9.39% ahead of the national figure.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Carolina. It ranks 70 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $97,290 the take-home is $73,900; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $78,501 would nationally. The average comes to $98,000, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For operations research analysts, North Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $97,290, ranking 15 of 47 and running about 9.39% 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.
- Within North Carolina, operations research analysts ranks 70 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for operations research analysts in North Carolina, on $97,290, is $73,900 — equivalent to $78,501 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 $98,000 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,980 |
| This salary | $97,290 |
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 | $73,900 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,274 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,019 |
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 | $92,495 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,407 |
| 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 operations research analysts in North Carolina earn under $97,290 and half over. The published range runs $60,180 at the tenth percentile to $130,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $73,900 take-home in North Carolina comes from $97,290. 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 70 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $78,501 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 70.
- Figures are distribution medians for operations research analysts in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $60,180 to $130,980; 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 $73,900, from $97,290, 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 70 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 15 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $78,501, worked from $97,290, 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 70 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $60,180, the highest tenth $130,980, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $78,501 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $73,900 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($60,180) and the ninetieth ($130,980) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $78,501 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 $73,900 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.