Economists Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $136K, rent takes 15.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,284/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new economists typically earn — is $35K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,128/month. At HUD’s $1,284/month FMR, rent would take 60% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $136K locally vs. $125K nationally, a 9% difference.

North Carolina pays $136K median vs. the U.S. average of $125K — that’s +9%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 92.66), the purchasing-power equivalent is $147K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $136,150 a year, that works out to about $65 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $35,460, and experienced economists can clear $224,270. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $8,140/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,284/month, which eats 15.8% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

North Carolina has a Regional Price Parity of 92.66 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median economists salary is worth about $146,935 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.