Transportation Security Screeners in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,971
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,569
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,207
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
$64,540
Kept after tax
$51,971
Worth in national money
$55,207
State rank
20
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $64,540, ranking 20 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 162.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $64,540 you keep $51,971 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $55,207 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $61,940.
- North Carolina occupies the middle band for transportation security screeners: a median of $64,540, ranking 20 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, transportation security screeners sits at 162 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 $51,971 after the full tax stack, from $64,540. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $55,207 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $61,940 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Transportation Security Screeners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,780 |
| This salary | $64,540 |
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 | $51,971 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,038 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$402 |
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 | $61,968 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$486 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,540 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,840 and the ninetieth is $70,780 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $51,971, from $64,540, 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 162 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 $55,207, the adjusted value of that $64,540 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 162 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $64,540 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,840 to $70,780. 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 $51,971 from $64,540. 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 162 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $55,207 — the adjusted value of that $64,540 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 162 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 $61,940, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,840 at the tenth percentile, $70,780 at the ninetieth.
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 $55,207 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 $51,971.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $61,940. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,840 to $70,780) 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 $55,207 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 $51,971 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.