Printing Press Operators in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,532
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,098
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,868
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
$45,630
Kept after tax
$37,532
Worth in national money
$39,868
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays printing press operators around $45,630 at the midpoint, 23 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 348.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $45,630 you keep $37,532 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,868 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $45,840, since top earners drag the number up.
- For printing press operators the North Carolina median is $45,630, ranking 23 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, printing press operators sits at 348 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.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $37,532 after the full tax stack, from $45,630. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,868 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $45,840 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Printing Press Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,010 |
| This salary | $45,630 |
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 | $37,532 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,844 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$104 |
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 | $43,997 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$126 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,630 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,600 and the ninetieth is $62,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $37,532, worked from $45,630. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 348 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 $39,868, the adjusted value of that $45,630 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 348 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $45,630 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,600 to $62,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Carolina take-home of $37,532, on $45,630 for work ranking 348 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 348 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $39,868 — the adjusted value of that $45,630 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 348 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,600 at the bottom tenth to $62,010 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,868 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $37,532.
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 ($29,600 to $62,010) 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 $39,868 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 $37,532 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.