Software Developers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$98,474
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$36,236
26.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$104,605
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
$134,710
Kept after tax
$98,474
Worth in national money
$104,605
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. North Carolina pays software developers a middle wage of $134,710, ranking 12 of 50 states and sitting about 0.93% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations North Carolina reports, software developers comes in at 19 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $134,710 the take-home is $98,474; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $104,605 would nationally. The average comes to $136,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Carolina's median for software developers is $134,710, about 0.93% above the national figure and 12 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Software developers ranks 19 of 489 occupations by median in North Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for software developers in North Carolina, on $134,710, is $98,474 — equivalent to $104,605 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 $136,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Software Developers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $134,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $179,310 |
| This salary | $134,710 |
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 | $98,474 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,340 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,740 |
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 | $127,590 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,473 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $134,710. The published range is $83,840 up to $179,310, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $98,474 take-home in North Carolina comes from $134,710. 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 19 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $104,605, the adjusted value of that $134,710 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 19 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for software developers in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $83,840 to $179,310. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $98,474, from $134,710, 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 19 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $104,605 — the adjusted value of that $134,710 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 19 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $83,840 and the top tenth $179,310, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $104,605 in national terms.
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, $98,474 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($83,840 to $179,310) 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 $104,605 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 $98,474 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.