Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,204
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,616
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,645
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
$47,820
Kept after tax
$39,204
Worth in national money
$41,645
State rank
38
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,820, ranking 38 of 50 states — about 10.35% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 313.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,820 the take-home is $39,204; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $41,645 would nationally. The average comes to $49,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 38 of 50 for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators, with a median of $47,820 — about 10.35% 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.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators sits at 313 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in North Carolina, on $47,820, is $39,204 — equivalent to $41,645 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 $49,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,310 |
| This salary | $47,820 |
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 | $39,204 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,603 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$139 |
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 | $46,079 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$168 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,820 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,860 and the ninetieth is $61,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $39,204, from $47,820, 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 313 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,645 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 313.
- The North Carolina median of $47,820 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,860 to $61,310. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,204 from $47,820. 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 313 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,645, worked from $47,820, 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 313 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,860 at the bottom tenth to $61,310 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $41,645 in national terms.
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 $39,204.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,860 to $61,310) 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 $41,645 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 $39,204 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.