Receptionists and Information Clerks in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,751
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,689
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,603
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
$35,440
Kept after tax
$29,751
Worth in national money
$31,603
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $35,440, ranking 41 of 51 states — about 6.76% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Carolina, this one sits low: 440 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,440 the take-home is $29,751; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,603 would nationally. The average comes to $35,450, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 41 of 51 for receptionists and information clerks, with a median of $35,440 — about 6.76% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Receptionists and information clerks occupies position 440 of 489 in North Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for receptionists and information clerks in North Carolina, on $35,440, is $29,751 — equivalent to $31,603 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 $35,450 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,210 |
| This salary | $35,440 |
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 | $29,751 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,656 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$56 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $34,313 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$67 |
| 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 receptionists and information clerks in North Carolina earn under $35,440 and half over. The published range runs $23,270 at the tenth percentile to $46,210 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $29,751, worked from $35,440. 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 440 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,603 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 440.
- Figures are distribution medians for receptionists and information clerks in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $23,270 to $46,210; 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.
- The North Carolina take-home of $29,751, on $35,440 for work ranking 440 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 440 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,603, worked from $35,440, 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 440 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $23,270 at the tenth percentile, $46,210 at the ninetieth.
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 $31,603.
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 $29,751 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,270 to $46,210) 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 $31,603 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 $29,751 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.