Restaurant Manager Salary in High Point, NC: Median $25,140 in 2026

High Point (NC) · COL index 85 · Unemployment 4.3% · Metro pop 115,000 · Rank #249 of 283 for Restaurant Manager salary

Written by Jere Salmisto, FounderReviewed by CalcFi EditorialLast reviewed Methodology

A Restaurant Manager in High Point earns an estimated median of $25,140 per year. That figure starts from the North Carolina state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($27,920) and scales it by High Point's composite cost-of-living index of 85 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $16,676; the 90th percentile reaches $40,510. After federal, North Carolina state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Restaurant Manager takes home approximately $21,750/year — about $1,813/month or $837 every other week.

Compared to the national Restaurant Manager median of $61,310, High Point pays -59.0%. Relative to the High Point median household income of $46,800, a Restaurant Managersalary runs -46.3%. Local unemployment is 4.3%[3], with an estimated 18 annual Restaurant Manager openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (348,900).

Restaurant Manager Snapshot — High Point (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.

MetricHigh PointNationalSource
Restaurant Manager median salary$25,140$61,310[1]
10th percentile$16,676$46,870[1]
90th percentile$40,510$104,130[1]
Annual take-home (single filer)$21,750[8][10]
Median home value (ZHVI)$215,000[5]
Median rent (ZORI)$950/mo[5]
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR)$875/mo[6]
Median household income (ACS)$46,800[7]
Cost-of-living index85.0100.0[4]
Unemployment rate4.3%[3]

How Restaurant Manager Salaries Work in High Point

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 ($27,920) and scaling by High Point's composite cost-of-living index (85)[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 2.1% effective rate ($527/yr on the $25,140 median)[10].

High Point also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $46,800, which frames what "a good Restaurant Manager salary" means locally: a $$25,140 wage pays about 54% 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.

Restaurant Manager Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — High Point

Buy vs rent in High Point

Monthly PITI on the $215,000 median home in High Point is ~$1,540/mo — vs a $950/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 24.4%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.

Cost of Living Breakdown — High Point

Estimated annual expense shares on a $21,750 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to High Point's COL index of 85. Housing uses the actual median rent.

H Housing (Rent)$11,400/yr (52.4%)
F Food & Groceries$2,375/yr (10.9%)
T Transportation$2,045/yr (9.4%)
M Healthcare$1,454/yr (6.7%)
U Utilities$1,006/yr (4.6%)
S Savings & Other$3,470/yr (16.0%)

BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by High Point's COL index of 85[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $950/month.

Salary vs Housing Affordability in High Point

Renting

Monthly take-home$1,813
Affordable rent (30% rule)$544/mo
Median rent (ZORI)$950/mo
Rent-to-income ratio45.3%
VerdictSeverely cost-burdened

Buying

Median home (ZHVI)$215,000
Price-to-income ratio8.6×
20% down payment$43,000
Years to down (20% savings)8.6 yr

At $1,813/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $544/mo. High Point's typical 1–2BR rent runs $950/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $875/mo), making rent severely cost-burdened on a median Restaurant Manager salary. For homebuyers, the 8.6× price-to-income ratio is stretched — expect DTI friction on FHA / conventional underwriting without a co-borrower.

How High Point Stacks Up for Restaurant Managers

#249
Salary rank
of 283 cities
#87
Affordability
rent ÷ income
#37
Purchasing power
salary ÷ COL

Against 283 major US cities: High Point ranks #249 for nominal Restaurant Manager salary, #87 for rent affordability, and #37 for overall purchasing power. High Point is mid-pack: solid nominal salaries partly absorbed by cost of living. Whether it "pays well" depends heavily on housing choices.

Nearby Cities — Restaurant Manager Salary Comparison

High Point'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.

CityEst. salaryCOLRentvs NC
High Point, NC$25,14085$950
Charlotte, NC$63,762104$1,595+153.6%
Raleigh, NC$64,376105$1,131+156.1%
Durham, NC$63,762104$1,350+153.6%
Greensboro, NC$53,95388$949+114.6%
Winston-Salem, NC$53,95388$950+114.6%

Sources: Census ACS[7], Zillow[5], BEA RPP[4], BLS OEWS[1].

Restaurant Manager Job Market in High Point

~18
Est. annual openings
4.3%
Unemployment
115,000
Metro population
5%
Job growth (24–34)

High Point has an estimated 18 annual Restaurant Manageropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 348,900 national Restaurant Managers[1]. The 4.3% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.

About the profession: Restaurant managers oversee daily operations of food service establishments, managing staff, inventory, customer service, and financial performance. Typical entry requirement: high school diploma; some college preferred. Projected growth through 2034: 5%[2].

Career Progression & Related Professions in High Point

Early-career Restaurant Managers in High Point start around $16,676, reach the city median ($25,140) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($40,510) at senior / specialized levels.

Related service professions in High Point

Calculators for Restaurant Managers in High Point

Other professions in High Point

Frequently Asked Questions — Restaurant Manager in High Point

How much does a Restaurant Manager make in High Point, NC?

The estimated median salary for a Restaurant Manager in High Point is $25,140/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS North Carolina state median ($27,920) by High Point's composite cost-of-living index of 85 (US = 100). After federal, North Carolina state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $21,750/year or $1,813/month.

Can a Restaurant Manager afford to live in High Point?

On $1,813/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $544/month. High Point's Zillow ZORI median rent is $950/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $875/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 45.3%, making housing severely cost-burdened for a Restaurant Manager at the local median. Home-buyers face 8.6× price-to-income, needing roughly 8.6 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.

How much tax does a Restaurant Manager pay in High Point?

On $25,140 gross, a Restaurant Manager in High Point pays approximately $939 in federal income tax (3.7% effective), $527 in North Carolina state income tax (2.1% effective), and $1,924 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 13.5%. Some North Carolina cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.

How does High Point rank for Restaurant Manager salaries vs other cities?

High Point ranks #249 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Restaurant Manager salary, #87 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #37 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 Restaurant Manager in High Point?

On $21,750 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for High Point looks like: housing $11,400/yr (52.4%); food $2,375/yr; transportation $2,045/yr; healthcare $1,454/yr; utilities $1,006/yr; savings + discretionary $3,470/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to High Point's COL index of 85 and the city's actual median rent.

What's the Restaurant Manager job market like in High Point?

High Point's unemployment rate is 4.3% across the metro of 115,000. Estimated annual Restaurant Manager openings: ~18 (extrapolated from 348,900 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.

Do High Point employers pay above or below the North Carolina median for Restaurant Managers?

Not consistently — High Point's estimated Restaurant Manager median of $25,140 is 59.0% 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 High Point median is derived from the North Carolina state-level BLS OEWS median ($27,920), scaled by High Point's composite cost-of-living index of 85. 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 Restaurant Managermedian (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 85index 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).

  1. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  2. BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  3. BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  4. 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.
  5. Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  6. HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  7. U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  8. Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  9. Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  10. 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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