Optometrists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$115,755
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$45,805
28.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$122,962
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
$161,560
Kept after tax
$115,755
Worth in national money
$122,962
State rank
3
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for optometrists is strong here. North Carolina's middle earner gets $161,560, putting the state 3 of 51 — about 18.3% ahead of the national figure.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Carolina. It ranks 12 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 $161,560 the take-home is $115,755; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $122,962 would nationally. The average lands at $161,030, below the middle of the range.
- For optometrists, North Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $161,560, ranking 3 of 51 and running about 18.3% 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, optometrists ranks 12 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 optometrists in North Carolina, on $161,560, is $115,755 — equivalent to $122,962 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 $161,030 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $94,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $161,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $215,340 |
| This salary | $161,560 |
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 | $115,755 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $121,692 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,268 |
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 | $152,873 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,225 |
| 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 $161,560. The published range is $94,320 up to $215,340, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $115,755, worked from $161,560. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 12 of 489.
- Two cautions on $122,962, the adjusted value of that $161,560 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 12 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for optometrists in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $94,320 to $215,340. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Carolina take-home of $115,755, on $161,560 for work ranking 12 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 12 of 489 in the state.
- This $122,962 adjusted figure, worked from $161,560, 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 12 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 12 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $94,320, the highest tenth $215,340, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $122,962.
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 $115,755.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($94,320) and the ninetieth ($215,340) 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 $122,962 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 $115,755 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.