Tool and Die Makers in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,314
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,746
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,384
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
$61,060
Kept after tax
$49,314
Worth in national money
$52,384
State rank
31
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Carolina pays tool and die makers a middle wage of $61,060, 31 of 45 states and about 4.67% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Tool and die makers ranks 197 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,060 you keep $49,314, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,384 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $60,950, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Carolina's $61,060 median for tool and die makers places it 31 of 45 states, about 4.67% 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.
- Position 197 of 489 in North Carolina places tool and die makers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for tool and die makers on $61,060 is $49,314. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,384 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 $60,950 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Tool and Die Makers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,180 |
| This salary | $61,060 |
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 | $49,314 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,242 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$347 |
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 | $58,661 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$420 |
| 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 tool and die makers in North Carolina earn under $61,060 and half over. The published range runs $43,770 at the tenth percentile to $79,180 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Carolina's $49,314, worked from $61,060. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 197 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,384 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 197.
- Figures are distribution medians for tool and die makers in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,770 to $79,180; 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.
- The North Carolina take-home of $49,314, on $61,060 for work ranking 197 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 197 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,384, worked from $61,060, 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 197 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $43,770 and the top tenth $79,180, 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 $52,384 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $49,314.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,770 to $79,180) 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 $52,384 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 $49,314 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.