Prepress Technicians and Workers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,685
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$9,075
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,218
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
$49,760
Kept after tax
$40,685
Worth in national money
$43,218
State rank
15
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is one of the better-paying states for prepress technicians and workers. The middle earner takes $49,760, which ranks 15 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 2.2% above the national middle.
- Against other work in North Carolina, this sits in the middle: 283 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,760 you keep $40,685, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,218 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,170, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 15 of 45 states publishing a median for prepress technicians and workers, at $49,760 — about 2.2% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Prepress technicians and workers ranks 283 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for prepress technicians and workers on $49,760 is $40,685. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,218 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 $51,170 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,060 |
| This salary | $49,760 |
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 | $40,685 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,162 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$169 |
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 | $47,922 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$205 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,760 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,260 and the ninetieth is $63,060 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $40,685, from $49,760, 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 283 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 $43,218 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 283.
- The North Carolina median of $49,760 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,260 to $63,060. 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 $40,685 from $49,760. 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 283 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,218, worked from $49,760, 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 283 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,260 at the bottom tenth to $63,060 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $43,218.
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, $40,685 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,260 to $63,060) 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 $43,218 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 $40,685 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.