Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,165
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,985
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,479
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
$45,150
Kept after tax
$37,165
Worth in national money
$39,479
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays ophthalmic medical technicians around $45,150 at the midpoint, 26 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 350 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,150 you keep $37,165, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,479 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For ophthalmic medical technicians the North Carolina median is $45,150, ranking 26 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 350 of 489 occupations in North Carolina by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for ophthalmic medical technicians on $45,150 is $37,165. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,479 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 $46,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,970 |
| This salary | $45,150 |
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 | $37,165 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,458 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$97 |
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 | $43,541 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$117 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,150 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,260 and the ninetieth is $61,970 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $37,165 take-home in North Carolina comes from $45,150. 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 350 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,479 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 350.
- The North Carolina median of $45,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,260 to $61,970. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $37,165, from $45,150, 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 350 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,479, worked from $45,150, 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 350 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,260 and the top tenth $61,970, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $39,479.
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, $37,165 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,260 to $61,970) 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 $39,479 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 $37,165 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.