Postal Service Clerks in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,781
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,509
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,004
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
$64,290
Kept after tax
$51,781
Worth in national money
$55,004
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for postal service clerks is strong here. North Carolina's middle earner gets $64,290, putting the state 2 of 51 — about 3.48% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Postal service clerks ranks 165 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $64,290 you keep $51,781 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $55,004 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $64,280.
- For postal service clerks, North Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $64,290, ranking 2 of 51 and running about 3.48% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Position 165 of 489 in North Carolina places postal service clerks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $51,781 after the full tax stack, from $64,290. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $55,004 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $64,280 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Postal Service Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,030 |
| This salary | $64,290 |
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 | $51,781 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,837 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$398 |
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 | $61,731 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$481 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,290 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $55,350 and the ninetieth is $75,030 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $51,781 take-home in North Carolina comes from $64,290. 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 165 of 489.
- Two cautions on $55,004, the adjusted value of that $64,290 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 165 of 489 locally.
- The North Carolina median of $64,290 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $55,350 to $75,030. 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 $51,781, from $64,290, 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 165 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 51 for it.
- This $55,004 adjusted figure, worked from $64,290, 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 165 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 165 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $55,350 at the tenth percentile, $75,030 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 $55,004.
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 $51,781.
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 ($55,350 to $75,030) 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 $55,004 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 $51,781 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.