Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,061
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,429
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,866
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
$55,490
Kept after tax
$45,061
Worth in national money
$47,866
State rank
39
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 $55,490. That is 39 of 51 states, and about 6.5% 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 245.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,490 you keep $45,061, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $47,866 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $55,490, ranking 39 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.5%. 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, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors sits at 245 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 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors on $55,490 is $45,061. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $47,866 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 $59,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,010 |
| This salary | $55,490 |
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 | $45,061 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,766 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$259 |
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 | $53,368 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$314 |
| 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 substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in North Carolina earn under $55,490 and half over. The published range runs $37,440 at the tenth percentile to $86,010 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $45,061, from $55,490, 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 245 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 $47,866, the adjusted value of that $55,490 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 245 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,440 to $86,010; 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 $45,061 from $55,490. 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 245 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $47,866 — the adjusted value of that $55,490 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 245 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $59,160, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,440 at the bottom tenth to $86,010 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $47,866.
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, $45,061 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 $59,160. 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 ($37,440) and the ninetieth ($86,010) 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 $47,866 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 $45,061 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.