Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,710
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,940
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,618
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
$57,650
Kept after tax
$46,710
Worth in national money
$49,618
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $57,650. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 19.98% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 228.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $57,650 you keep $46,710, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $49,618 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $55,760, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $57,650, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 19.98%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education sits at 228 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education on $57,650 is $46,710. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $49,618 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 $55,760 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,460 |
| This salary | $57,650 |
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 | $46,710 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,502 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$293 |
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 | $55,420 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$355 |
| 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 secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in North Carolina earn under $57,650 and half over. The published range runs $45,430 at the tenth percentile to $64,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,710 take-home in North Carolina comes from $57,650. 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 228 of 489.
- Two cautions on $49,618, the adjusted value of that $57,650 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 228 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,430 to $64,460; 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 $46,710, from $57,650, 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 228 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 51 for it.
- This $49,618 adjusted figure, worked from $57,650, 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 228 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 228 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 $55,760, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,430 and the top tenth $64,460, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $49,618 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $46,710 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.
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 $55,760. 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 ($45,430 to $64,460) 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 $49,618 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 $46,710 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.