Registered Nurses in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,313
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$19,037
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,380
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
$84,350
Kept after tax
$65,313
Worth in national money
$69,380
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 33 of 51 states for registered nurses, with a middle wage of $84,350. 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 94 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $84,350 you keep $65,313, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $69,380 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $90,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 33 of 51 for registered nurses at $84,350. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within North Carolina, registered nurses ranks 94 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for registered nurses on $84,350 is $65,313. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $69,380 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 $90,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $67,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,350 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,220 |
| This salary | $84,350 |
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 | $65,313 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,170 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$772 |
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 | $80,289 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,067 |
| 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 registered nurses in North Carolina earn under $84,350 and half over. The published range runs $67,660 at the tenth percentile to $110,220 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $65,313, from $84,350, 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 94 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $69,380, the adjusted value of that $84,350 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 94 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for registered nurses in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $67,660 to $110,220; 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 $65,313 from $84,350. 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 94 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $69,380 — the adjusted value of that $84,350 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 94 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $90,470 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $67,660 at the bottom tenth to $110,220 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $69,380 in national terms.
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 $65,313 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.
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 $90,470. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($67,660 to $110,220) 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 $69,380 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 $65,313 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.