Social Workers, All Other in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,170
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,320
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,355
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
$63,490
Kept after tax
$51,170
Worth in national money
$54,355
State rank
37
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays social workers, all other a middle wage of $63,490, 37 of 50 states and about 11.7% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 172.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $63,490 the take-home is $51,170; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,355 would nationally. The average comes to $74,680, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina's $63,490 median for social workers, all other places it 37 of 50 states, about 11.7% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, social workers, all other sits at 172 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.
- Post-tax income for social workers, all other in North Carolina, on $63,490, is $51,170 — equivalent to $54,355 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 $74,680 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Social Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,230 |
| This salary | $63,490 |
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 | $51,170 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,194 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$385 |
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 | $60,970 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$466 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,490 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,440 and the ninetieth is $116,230 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $51,170, from $63,490, 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 172 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,355 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 172.
- The North Carolina median of $63,490 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,440 to $116,230. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $51,170 from $63,490. 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 172 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,355, worked from $63,490, 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 172 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 $74,680, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,440 at the bottom tenth to $116,230 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $54,355 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 $51,170 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $74,680. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($44,440) and the ninetieth ($116,230) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $54,355 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 $51,170 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.