Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Salaries
Local wages where BEA prices sit below the US average (RPP 88.5) - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC moved from $43,270 in May 2024 to $45,220 in May 2025 (+4.5%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC sits +1.4 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Upholsterers shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
Upholsterers publishes $59,700 here versus $46,340 nationally (+28.8%; 2,220metro-area jobs). Next is Registered Nurses at $80,060 locally versus $97,550 nationally (-17.9%).
- Upholsterers$59,700 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC sits 28.8% above the national Upholsterers median of $46,340 (2,220 published local jobs).
- Registered Nurses$80,060 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC sits 17.9% below the national Registered Nurses median of $97,550 (3,020 published local jobs).
- Waiters and Waitresses$29,310 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC sits 16.8% below the national Waiters and Waitresses median of $35,230 (2,000 published local jobs).
- Cashiers$27,570 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC sits 16.1% below the national Cashiers median of $32,880 (3,470 published local jobs).
Upholsterers and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 25860 · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC $54K mean
MEAN-LOW · RPP-LOW · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-LOW #390/528
- RPP-LOW 88.5
- OCC-MID 385 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $313K
- EMP-MIX Industrial P…
- TREND-INLINE +1.4 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Northeastern Pen…
- BOOK-FULL 380 rows · May 2025
Read with Northeastern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area ($19 on published-row mean) · Salary vs. cost of living
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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
Where Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC already employs the upper wage tier
Industrial Production Managers and Software Developers lead published employment inside Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's top-pay sample — order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Industrial Production Managers 640 jobs · $124,290
- 2. Software Developers 420 jobs · $122,540
- 3. Physicians, All Other 380 jobs · $313,460
- 4. Sales Managers 360 jobs · $132,060
- 5. Pharmacists 330 jobs · $137,180
- 6. Financial Managers 310 jobs · $138,150
- 7. Nurse Practitioners 300 jobs · $126,620
- 8. Computer and Information Systems Managers 220 jobs · $163,010
- 9. Architectural and Engineering Managers 200 jobs · $170,730
- 10. Marketing Managers 200 jobs · $151,190
- 11. Physician Assistants 190 jobs · $127,210
- 12. Human Resources Managers 140 jobs · $117,950
- 13. Dentists, General 130 jobs · $193,320
- 14. Nurse Anesthetists 120 jobs · $213,630
- 15. Facilities Managers 110 jobs · $111,610
- 16. Purchasing Managers 80 jobs · $132,570
- 17. Veterinarians 70 jobs · $124,970
- 18. Engineers, All Other 60 jobs · $125,160
Occupations Tracked
385
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$53,830
employment-weighted, 380 complete rows
Top Salary
$313,460
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
88.5
12% below US avg
Top-pay occupations in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, by employment
Same top-pay sample as the salary ranking, sorted by published local jobs so the title sequence follows the OEWS mix.
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Industrial Production Managers | $124,290 |
| 2 | Software Developers | $122,540 |
| 3 | Physicians, All Other | $313,460 |
| 4 | Sales Managers | $132,060 |
| 5 | Pharmacists | $137,180 |
| 6 | Financial Managers | $138,150 |
| 7 | Nurse Practitioners | $126,620 |
| 8 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $163,010 |
| 9 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $170,730 |
| 10 | Marketing Managers | $151,190 |
| 11 | Physician Assistants | $127,210 |
| 12 | Human Resources Managers | $117,950 |
| 13 | Dentists, General | $193,320 |
| 14 | Nurse Anesthetists | $213,630 |
| 15 | Facilities Managers | $111,610 |
| 16 | Purchasing Managers | $132,570 |
| 17 | Veterinarians | $124,970 |
| 18 | Engineers, All Other | $125,160 |
| 19 | Chief Executives | $312,730 |
| 20 | Natural Sciences Managers | $162,690 |
| 21 | Optometrists | $136,920 |
| 22 | Sales Engineers | $121,100 |
| 23 | Information Security Analysts | $115,250 |
| 24 | Training and Development Managers | $113,070 |
| 25 | Family Medicine Physicians | $206,360 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $24,290 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $24,480 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $26,940 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $27,110 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $27,550 |
| Cashiers | $27,570 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,580 |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | $27,630 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $27,680 |
| Childcare Workers | $28,460 |
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 ($53,830 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
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
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Related federal data
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.