Public Relations Managers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,910
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$35,370
26.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$102,944
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
$132,280
Kept after tax
$96,910
Worth in national money
$102,944
State rank
18
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 18 of 48 states for public relations managers, with a middle wage of $132,280. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Carolina. It ranks 21 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $132,280 the take-home is $96,910; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $102,944 would nationally. The average comes to $146,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 18 of 48 for public relations managers at $132,280. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within North Carolina, public relations managers ranks 21 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for public relations managers in North Carolina, on $132,280, is $96,910 — equivalent to $102,944 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 $146,900 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Public Relations Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $79,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $132,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $229,270 |
| This salary | $132,280 |
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 | $96,910 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,679 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,692 |
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 | $125,302 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,405 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of public relations managers in North Carolina earn under $132,280 and half over. The published range runs $79,320 at the tenth percentile to $229,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $96,910, from $132,280, 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 21 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $102,944, the adjusted value of that $132,280 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 21 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for public relations managers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $79,320 to $229,270; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $96,910 from $132,280. 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 21 of 489 locally.
- This $102,944 adjusted figure, worked from $132,280, 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 21 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 21 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 $146,900, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $79,320, the highest tenth $229,270, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $102,944 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $96,910 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $146,900. 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 ($79,320) and the ninetieth ($229,270) 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 $102,944 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 $96,910 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.