Lawyer Salary in Wilmington, NC: Median $79,736 in 2026
Wilmington (NC) · COL index 100 · Unemployment 3.8% · Metro pop 295,000 · Rank #136 of 283 for Lawyer salary
A Lawyer in Wilmington earns an estimated median of $79,736 per year. That figure starts from the North Carolina state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($75,270) and scales it by Wilmington's composite cost-of-living index of 100 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $44,492; the 90th percentile reaches $235,236. After federal, North Carolina state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Lawyer takes home approximately $61,798/year — about $5,150/month or $2,377 every other week.
Compared to the national Lawyer median of $145,760, Wilmington pays -45.3%. Relative to the Wilmington median household income of $52,800, a Lawyersalary runs +51.0%. Local unemployment is 3.8%[3], with an estimated 110 annual Lawyer openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (832,400).
Lawyer Snapshot — Wilmington (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Wilmington | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyer median salary | $79,736 | $145,760 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $44,492 | $95,240 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $235,236 | $350,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $61,798 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $442,797 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,675/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,550/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $73,687 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 100.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% | — | [3] |
How Lawyer Salaries Work in Wilmington
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the North Carolina state-level OEWS median ($75,270) and scaling by Wilmington's composite cost-of-living index (100)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and North Carolina state income tax at a 3.6% effective rate ($2,847/yr on the $79,736 median)[10].
Wilmington also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $73,687, which frames what "a good Lawyer salary" means locally: a $$79,736 wage pays about 108% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Wilmington
Estimated annual expense shares on a $61,798 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Wilmington's COL index of 100. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Wilmington's COL index of 100[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,350/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Wilmington
Renting
Buying
At $5,150/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,545/mo. Wilmington's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,675/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,550/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Lawyer salary. For homebuyers, the 4.3× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Wilmington Stacks Up for Lawyers
Against 283 major US cities: Wilmington ranks #136 for nominal Lawyer salary, #170 for rent affordability, and #152 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Wilmington's nominal wage premium. Lawyers here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Lawyer Salary Comparison
Wilmington's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington, NC ★ | $79,736 | 100 | $1,350 | — |
| Charlotte, NC | $151,590 | 104 | $1,595 | +90.1% |
| Raleigh, NC | $153,048 | 105 | $1,131 | +91.9% |
| Durham, NC | $151,590 | 104 | $1,350 | +90.1% |
| Greensboro, NC | $128,269 | 88 | $949 | +60.9% |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $128,269 | 88 | $950 | +60.9% |
Lawyer Job Market in Wilmington
Wilmington has an estimated 110 annual Lawyeropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 832,400 national Lawyers[1]. The 3.8% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Lawyers advise and represent clients in civil and criminal legal matters. Compensation varies widely by practice area, firm size, and whether the attorney works at a firm or is self-employed. Typical entry requirement: doctoral or professional degree (jd). Projected growth through 2034: 8%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Wilmington
Early-career Lawyers in Wilmington start around $44,492, reach the city median ($79,736) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($235,236) at senior / specialized levels.
Related legal professions in Wilmington
Calculators for Lawyers in Wilmington
Other professions in Wilmington
Frequently Asked Questions — Lawyer in Wilmington
How much does a Lawyer make in Wilmington, NC?
The estimated median salary for a Lawyer in Wilmington is $79,736/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS North Carolina state median ($75,270) by Wilmington's composite cost-of-living index of 100 (US = 100). After federal, North Carolina state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $61,798/year or $5,150/month.
Can a Lawyer afford to live in Wilmington?
On $5,150/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,545/month. Wilmington's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,675/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,550/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 20.3%, making housing very affordable for a Lawyer at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.3× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.3 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Lawyer pay in Wilmington?
On $79,736 gross, a Lawyer in Wilmington pays approximately $8,991 in federal income tax (11.3% effective), $2,847 in North Carolina state income tax (3.6% effective), and $6,100 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 22.5%. Some North Carolina cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Wilmington rank for Lawyer salaries vs other cities?
Wilmington ranks #136 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Lawyer salary, #170 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #152 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Lawyer in Wilmington?
On $61,798 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Wilmington looks like: housing $16,200/yr (26.2%); food $7,416/yr; transportation $6,180/yr; healthcare $4,326/yr; utilities $3,090/yr; savings + discretionary $24,586/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Wilmington's COL index of 100 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Lawyer job market like in Wilmington?
Wilmington's unemployment rate is 3.8% across the metro of 295,000. Estimated annual Lawyer openings: ~110 (extrapolated from 832,400 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Wilmington employers pay above or below the North Carolina median for Lawyers?
Not consistently — Wilmington's estimated Lawyer median of $79,736 is 45.3% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Wilmington median is derived from the North Carolina state-level BLS OEWS median ($75,270), scaled by Wilmington's composite cost-of-living index of 100. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Lawyermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses North Carolina's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 100index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 94.4(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- North Carolina Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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