State salary index

Salaries in North Carolina

Median annual wages for 200 occupations in North Carolina, ranked from highest to lowest. Click any occupation for the full wage distribution and how North Carolina compares with the other states.

Occupations ranked by median pay

Top 100 of 200 occupations with published data.

#	Occupation	Median annual	Employment
1	Surgeons, All Other	$398,410	480
2	Dermatologists	$367,350	800
3	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$339,350	710
4	Neurologists	$325,550	180
5	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$323,630	560
6	Chief Executives	$314,290	1,930
7	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$289,780	1,700
8	Physicians, All Other	$260,330	14,080
9	Physicians, Pathologists	$248,940	340
10	Dentists, All Other Specialists	$225,990	130
11	Orthodontists	$224,990	160
12	Nurse Anesthetists	$224,610	3,340
13	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	$224,040	—
14	Podiatrists	$215,420	240
15	Family Medicine Physicians	$215,230	1,520
16	Dentists, General	$207,000	4,140
17	Pediatricians, General	$183,550	740
18	Physicists	$174,180	150
19	Natural Sciences Managers	$173,870	6,010
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$172,860	25,650
21	Psychiatrists	$168,880	620
22	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$167,840	6,960
23	Financial Managers	$166,780	22,460
24	Marketing Managers	$165,480	10,790
25	Optometrists	$161,560	1,140
26	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$151,540	2,240
27	Sales Managers	$150,470	16,920
28	Medical Dosimetrists	$147,830	140
29	Human Resources Managers	$142,990	6,480
30	Managers, All Other	$141,160	21,830
31	Pharmacists	$138,860	11,430
32	Purchasing Managers	$138,710	2,670
33	Economists	$136,150	290
34	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$135,240	880
35	Software Developers	$134,710	58,470
36	Computer Hardware Engineers	$134,670	1,340
37	Database Architects	$134,630	4,070
38	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$134,540	590
39	Public Relations Managers	$132,280	1,510
40	Financial Risk Specialists	$132,040	3,200
41	Nuclear Engineers	$131,850	460
42	Information Security Analysts	$131,540	8,670
43	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$129,960	260
44	Physician Assistants	$129,360	7,490
45	Veterinarians	$129,240	2,940
46	Air Traffic Controllers	$129,230	410
47	Nurse Practitioners	$128,990	9,800
48	Actuaries	$128,730	610
49	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$128,370	600
50	Lawyers	$127,710	17,000
51	Computer Network Architects	$127,320	8,350
52	Commercial Pilots	$127,310	1,520
53	Sociologists	$126,760	170
54	Psychologists, All Other	$126,440	570
55	Training and Development Managers	$126,200	2,020
56	Nurse Midwives	$126,040	240
57	Industrial Production Managers	$125,940	9,640
58	Fundraising Managers	$125,870	1,030
59	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	$125,370	11,990
60	Aerospace Engineers	$122,930	650
61	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$121,730	—
62	Sales Engineers	$121,530	2,530
63	Data Scientists	$119,090	11,430
64	Chemical Engineers	$117,410	380
65	Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other	$117,210	800
66	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	$115,920	2,090
67	Statisticians	$115,690	1,200
68	Medical and Health Services Managers	$114,410	14,820
69	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary	$114,200	490
70	Database Administrators	$113,900	1,920
71	Engineers, All Other	$112,450	4,270
72	Nuclear Technicians	$110,430	420
73	Electrical Engineers	$110,130	7,090
74	Physical Scientists, All Other	$110,030	650
75	Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$108,430	90
76	Power Plant Operators	$108,300	420
77	Facilities Managers	$108,130	4,810
78	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers	$107,700	240
79	Computer Systems Analysts	$106,850	20,910
80	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$106,800	480
81	Construction Managers	$106,640	16,310
82	Materials Scientists	$106,470	490
83	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$106,100	6,650
84	Administrative Services Managers	$105,630	7,360
85	Computer Occupations, All Other	$104,850	15,090
86	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$104,710	950
87	Materials Engineers	$104,240	640
88	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$103,220	9,240
89	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$102,980	5,730
90	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	$102,980	360
91	Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	$102,560	500
92	Financial and Investment Analysts	$102,390	12,710
93	General and Operations Managers	$101,950	63,740
94	Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other	$101,850	—
95	Education Administrators, Postsecondary	$101,060	7,390
96	Project Management Specialists	$100,820	36,200
97	Financial Examiners	$100,730	2,610
98	Civil Engineers	$100,730	12,810
99	Mechanical Engineers	$100,720	9,560
100	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$100,390	8,890

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-26. bls.gov/oes