School Psychologists in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,928
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$15,292
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,534
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
$73,220
Kept after tax
$57,928
Worth in national money
$61,534
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for school psychologists. The middle earner takes $73,220, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 23.72% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. School psychologists ranks 140 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $73,220 you keep $57,928, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $61,534 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $73,080, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Carolina ranks 43 of 51 for school psychologists, with a median of $73,220 — about 23.72% 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.
- Position 140 of 489 in North Carolina places school psychologists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for school psychologists on $73,220 is $57,928. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $61,534 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 $73,080 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: School Psychologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,970 |
| This salary | $73,220 |
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 | $57,928 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,340 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$560 |
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 | $69,790 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$774 |
| 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 school psychologists in North Carolina earn under $73,220 and half over. The published range runs $58,510 at the tenth percentile to $91,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $57,928 take-home in North Carolina comes from $73,220. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 140 of 489.
- Two cautions on $61,534, the adjusted value of that $73,220 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 140 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for school psychologists in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,510 to $91,970; 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.
- Retained pay of $57,928, from $73,220, assumes a single North Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 140 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- This $61,534 adjusted figure, worked from $73,220, 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 140 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 140 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $58,510 at the tenth percentile, $91,970 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 $61,534.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Carolina's own levy, $57,928 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,510 to $91,970) 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 $61,534 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 $57,928 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.