Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,580
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$9,971
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,293
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
$53,550
Kept after tax
$43,580
Worth in national money
$46,293
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for payroll and timekeeping clerks. The middle earner takes $53,550, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 8.08% 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 254.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $53,550 you keep $43,580, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,293 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $54,800, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 36 of 51 for payroll and timekeeping clerks, with a median of $53,550 — about 8.08% 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, payroll and timekeeping clerks sits at 254 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for payroll and timekeeping clerks on $53,550 is $43,580. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,293 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 $54,800 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,480 |
| This salary | $53,550 |
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 | $43,580 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,207 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$229 |
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 | $51,524 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$277 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $53,550 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,620 and the ninetieth is $74,480 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $43,580 take-home in North Carolina comes from $53,550. 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 254 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,293, the adjusted value of that $53,550 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 254 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $53,550 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,620 to $74,480. 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 $43,580, from $53,550, 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 254 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $46,293 — the adjusted value of that $53,550 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 254 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,620 at the tenth percentile, $74,480 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 $46,293.
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 $43,580 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,620 to $74,480) 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 $46,293 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 $43,580 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.