Purchasing Managers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$101,048
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$37,662
27.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$107,340
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
$138,710
Kept after tax
$101,048
Worth in national money
$107,340
State rank
20
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for purchasing managers. The median is $138,710, ranking 20 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, purchasing managers ranks 17 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $138,710 you keep $101,048 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $107,340 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $151,090, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for purchasing managers: a median of $138,710, ranking 20 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, purchasing managers sits 17 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.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $101,048 after the full tax stack, from $138,710. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $107,340 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $151,090 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Purchasing Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $94,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $138,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $219,150 |
| This salary | $138,710 |
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 | $101,048 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $106,074 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,818 |
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 | $131,357 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,585 |
| 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 $138,710. The published range is $94,240 up to $219,150, 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 $101,048, worked from $138,710. 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 17 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 $107,340, the adjusted value of that $138,710 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 17 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for purchasing managers in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $94,240 to $219,150. 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 $101,048, on $138,710 for work ranking 17 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 17 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $107,340 — the adjusted value of that $138,710 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 17 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 $151,090, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $94,240 at the bottom tenth to $219,150 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $107,340 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 $101,048.
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 50 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 $151,090. 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 ($94,240) and the ninetieth ($219,150) 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 $107,340 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 $101,048 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.