Urban and Regional Planners in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,243
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$17,987
22.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,180
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
$81,230
Kept after tax
$63,243
Worth in national money
$67,180
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Carolina pays urban and regional planners around $81,230 at the midpoint, 25 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within North Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, urban and regional planners ranks 100 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $81,230 you keep $63,243 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $67,180 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $83,610, since top earners drag the number up.
- For urban and regional planners the North Carolina median is $81,230, ranking 25 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation North Carolina publishes a median for, urban and regional planners sits 100 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in North Carolina is $63,243 after the full tax stack, from $81,230. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $67,180 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $83,610 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Urban and Regional Planners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $81,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $112,110 |
| This salary | $81,230 |
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 | $63,243 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,975 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$713 |
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 | $77,346 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$985 |
| 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 $81,230. The published range is $58,830 up to $112,110, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $63,243 take-home in North Carolina comes from $81,230. 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 100 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 $67,180, the adjusted value of that $81,230 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 100 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for urban and regional planners in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $58,830 to $112,110. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $63,243, from $81,230, 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 100 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Carolina, so $67,180 — the adjusted value of that $81,230 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 100 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $58,830 and the top tenth $112,110, 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 $67,180 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 $63,243.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,830 to $112,110) 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 $67,180 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 $63,243 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.