Paramedics in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,458
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,862
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,351
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
$57,320
Kept after tax
$46,458
Worth in national money
$49,351
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for paramedics is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $57,320. That is 36 of 51 states, and about 5.41% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 234 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $57,320 the take-home is $46,458; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $49,351 would nationally. The average sits at $57,320, the same as the middle.
- For paramedics, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $57,320, ranking 36 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 5.41%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Paramedics ranks 234 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.
- Post-tax income for paramedics in North Carolina, on $57,320, is $46,458 — equivalent to $49,351 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. Mean and median are identical at $57,320, unusual in wage data and worth noting.
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Pay band: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,170 |
| This salary | $57,320 |
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 | $46,458 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,237 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$288 |
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 | $55,107 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$349 |
| 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 paramedics in North Carolina earn under $57,320 and half over. The published range runs $44,730 at the tenth percentile to $75,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $46,458, from $57,320, 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 234 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $49,351, the adjusted value of that $57,320 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 234 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for paramedics in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,730 to $75,170; 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 $46,458 from $57,320. 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 234 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $49,351 — the adjusted value of that $57,320 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 234 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,730 at the tenth percentile, $75,170 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 $49,351.
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 $46,458 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 ($44,730 to $75,170) 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 $49,351 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 $46,458 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.