Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,015
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,105
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,755
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
$54,120
Kept after tax
$44,015
Worth in national money
$46,755
State rank
42
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 $54,120. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 9.91% 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 253.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $54,120 you keep $44,015 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $46,755 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $55,280, since top earners drag the number up.
- For security and fire alarm systems installers, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $54,120, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 9.91%. 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, security and fire alarm systems installers sits at 253 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.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $44,015 after the full tax stack, from $54,120. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,755 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $55,280 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: Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,220 |
| This salary | $54,120 |
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 | $44,015 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,665 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$238 |
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 | $52,066 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$288 |
| 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 security and fire alarm systems installers in North Carolina earn under $54,120 and half over. The published range runs $37,180 at the tenth percentile to $75,220 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $44,015, from $54,120, 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 253 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 $46,755, the adjusted value of that $54,120 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 253 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for security and fire alarm systems installers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,180 to $75,220; 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 $44,015 from $54,120. 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 253 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $46,755 — the adjusted value of that $54,120 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 253 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,180 at the tenth percentile, $75,220 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,755 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, $44,015 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 ($37,180 to $75,220) 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 $46,755 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 $44,015 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.