Packers and Packagers, Hand in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,926
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,434
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,727
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
$34,360
Kept after tax
$28,926
Worth in national money
$30,727
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for packers and packagers, hand. The middle earner takes $34,360, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 5.29% 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: 452 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $34,360 the take-home is $28,926; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $30,727 would nationally. The average comes to $34,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 36 of 51 for packers and packagers, hand, with a median of $34,360 — about 5.29% 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.
- Packers and packagers, hand occupies position 452 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.
- Post-tax income for packers and packagers, hand in North Carolina, on $34,360, is $28,926 — equivalent to $30,727 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 $34,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Packers and Packagers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,350 |
| This salary | $34,360 |
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 | $28,926 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,788 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$73 |
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 | $33,287 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$88 |
| 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 packers and packagers, hand in North Carolina earn under $34,360 and half over. The published range runs $24,500 at the tenth percentile to $45,350 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $28,926 take-home in North Carolina comes from $34,360. 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 452 of 489.
- Two cautions on $30,727, the adjusted value of that $34,360 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 452 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for packers and packagers, hand in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $24,500 to $45,350; 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 $28,926, from $34,360, 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 452 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 51 for it.
- This $30,727 adjusted figure, worked from $34,360, 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 452 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 452 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $24,500 and the top tenth $45,350, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $30,727 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $28,926 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 ($24,500 to $45,350) 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 $30,727 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 $28,926 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.