Physician Assistants in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,031
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$34,329
26.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$100,947
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
$129,360
Kept after tax
$95,031
Worth in national money
$100,947
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays physician assistants a middle wage of $129,360, 40 of 51 states and about 4.8% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, physician assistants ranks 24 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $129,360 the take-home is $95,031; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $100,947 would nationally. The average comes to $130,030, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina's $129,360 median for physician assistants places it 40 of 51 states, about 4.8% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, physician assistants sits 24 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for physician assistants in North Carolina, on $129,360, is $95,031 — equivalent to $100,947 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 $130,030 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physician Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $101,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $129,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $164,770 |
| This salary | $129,360 |
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 | $95,031 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,684 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,634 |
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 | $122,553 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,323 |
| 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 $129,360. The published range is $101,100 up to $164,770, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $95,031, from $129,360, 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 24 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $100,947, the adjusted value of that $129,360 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 24 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for physician assistants in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $101,100 to $164,770. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $95,031 from $129,360. 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 24 of 489 locally.
- This $100,947 adjusted figure, worked from $129,360, 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 24 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 24 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $101,100 and the top tenth $164,770, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $100,947 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $95,031 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($101,100 to $164,770) 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 $100,947 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 $95,031 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.