Tree Trimmers and Pruners in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,708
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,772
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,180
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
$48,480
Kept after tax
$39,708
Worth in national money
$42,180
State rank
28
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 28 of 49 states for tree trimmers and pruners, with a middle wage of $48,480. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Tree trimmers and pruners ranks 300 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $48,480 you keep $39,708 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,180 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $52,020, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Carolina ranks 28 of 49 for tree trimmers and pruners at $48,480. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 300 of 489 in North Carolina places tree trimmers and pruners 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.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $39,708 after the full tax stack, from $48,480. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,180 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $52,020 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Tree Trimmers and Pruners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,600 |
| This salary | $48,480 |
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 | $39,708 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,134 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$149 |
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 | $46,706 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$181 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,480 as a midpoint for North Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,130 and the ninetieth is $62,600 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $39,708, from $48,480, 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 300 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 $42,180, the adjusted value of that $48,480 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 300 of 489 in the state.
- The North Carolina median of $48,480 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,130 to $62,600. 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 $39,708 from $48,480. 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 300 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $42,180 — the adjusted value of that $48,480 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 300 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 $52,020, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,130 and the top tenth $62,600, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $42,180 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,708.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $52,020. 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 ($36,130 to $62,600) 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 $42,180 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 $39,708 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.