Burlington, NC Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Burlington, NC - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Burlington, NC moved from $40,980 in May 2024 to $44,010 in May 2025 (+7.4%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Burlington, NC sits +4.3 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
Retail Salespersons shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Burlington, NC
Retail Salespersons publishes $29,630 here versus $35,410 nationally (-16.3%; 2,570metro-area jobs). Next is Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand at $43,750 locally versus $40,240 nationally (+8.7%).
- Retail Salespersons$29,630 in Burlington, NC sits 16.3% below the national Retail Salespersons median of $35,410 (2,570 published local jobs).
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$43,750 in Burlington, NC sits 8.7% above the national Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand median of $40,240 (2,660 published local jobs).
Retail Salespersons and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Burlington, NC; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 15500 · Burlington, NC $53K mean
MEAN-TRACE · RPP-LOW · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-AHEAD · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-MOST
- MEAN-TRACE #418/528
- RPP-LOW 93.2
- OCC-MID 263 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $350K
- EMP-MIX Software Dev…
- TREND-AHEAD +4.3 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Cape Girardeau,…
- BOOK-MOST 260 rows · May 2025
Read with Cape Girardeau, MO-IL (+$12 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Burlington, NC
Employment scale inside Burlington, NC's top-pay list
Software Developers and Sales Managers lead published employment inside Burlington, NC's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Software Developers 270 jobs · $127,570
- 2. Sales Managers 200 jobs · $129,740
- 3. Medical and Health Services Managers 200 jobs · $110,090
- 4. Financial Managers 190 jobs · $134,760
- 5. Industrial Production Managers 180 jobs · $112,690
- 6. Managers, All Other 180 jobs · $112,090
- 7. Construction Managers 180 jobs · $104,470
- 8. Computer and Information Systems Managers 150 jobs · $165,490
- 9. Pharmacists 120 jobs · $130,730
- 10. Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 110 jobs · $103,690
- 11. Computer Systems Analysts 100 jobs · $118,590
- 12. Physicians, All Other 90 jobs · $350,130
- 13. Marketing Managers 80 jobs · $164,770
- 14. Nurse Practitioners 80 jobs · $131,980
- 15. Administrative Services Managers 80 jobs · $104,010
- 16. Dentists, General 60 jobs · $166,330
- 17. Architectural and Engineering Managers 60 jobs · $150,080
- 18. Human Resources Managers 60 jobs · $135,220
Occupations Tracked
263
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$53,033
employment-weighted, 260 complete rows
Top Salary
$350,130
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
93.2
7% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Burlington, NC
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physicians, All Other | $350,130 |
| 2 | Dentists, General | $166,330 |
| 3 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $165,490 |
| 4 | Marketing Managers | $164,770 |
| 5 | Natural Sciences Managers | $163,020 |
| 6 | Purchasing Managers | $152,870 |
| 7 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $150,080 |
| 8 | Human Resources Managers | $135,220 |
| 9 | Financial Managers | $134,760 |
| 10 | Nurse Practitioners | $131,980 |
| 11 | Pharmacists | $130,730 |
| 12 | Veterinarians | $129,800 |
| 13 | Sales Managers | $129,740 |
| 14 | Software Developers | $127,570 |
| 15 | Electrical Engineers | $119,650 |
| 16 | Computer Systems Analysts | $118,590 |
| 17 | Computer Network Architects | $118,130 |
| 18 | Physician Assistants | $113,200 |
| 19 | Industrial Production Managers | $112,690 |
| 20 | Managers, All Other | $112,090 |
| 21 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $110,090 |
| 22 | Construction Managers | $104,470 |
| 23 | Administrative Services Managers | $104,010 |
| 24 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $103,690 |
| 25 | Information Security Analysts | $103,140 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Burlington, NC
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment | $27,140 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $27,170 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $27,450 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,710 |
| Recreation Workers | $27,860 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $28,100 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $28,620 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $28,670 |
| Cashiers | $28,690 |
| Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs | $29,190 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in NC
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside NC. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($53,033 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average salary in Burlington, NC? ▼
Which published medians lead Burlington, NC? ▼
What is the cost of living in Burlington, NC? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Burlington, NC come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Burlington, NC wage figures in a real decision
- Physicians, All Other leads published medians in Burlington, NC at $350,130/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Physicians, All Other
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $53,033 adjusts to about $56,905 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 93.2. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for NC before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.