Psychiatrists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$120,466
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$48,414
28.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$127,966
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
$168,880
Kept after tax
$120,466
Worth in national money
$127,966
State rank
42
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays psychiatrists a middle wage of $168,880, 42 of 46 states and about 40.09% 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, psychiatrists ranks 8 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $168,880 you keep $120,466, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $127,966 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $201,840, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina's $168,880 median for psychiatrists places it 42 of 46 states, about 40.09% 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, psychiatrists sits 8 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for psychiatrists on $168,880 is $120,466. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $127,966 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 $201,840 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Psychiatrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $101,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $168,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $297,250 |
| This salary | $168,880 |
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 | $120,466 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $126,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,413 |
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 | $159,766 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,430 |
| 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 $168,880. The published range is $101,080 up to $297,250, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $120,466, worked from $168,880. 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 8 of 489.
- Two cautions on $127,966, the adjusted value of that $168,880 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 8 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for psychiatrists in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $101,080 to $297,250. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Carolina take-home of $120,466, on $168,880 for work ranking 8 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 8 of 489 in the state.
- This $127,966 adjusted figure, worked from $168,880, 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 8 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 8 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $201,840, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $101,080 and the top tenth $297,250 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $127,966 in national terms.
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 $120,466.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in North Carolina is $201,840. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($101,080) and the ninetieth ($297,250) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $127,966 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 $120,466 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.