Workforce
Caregiver Pay Rates by State: How to Set a Competitive Wage
Caregivers earned a median $17.21/hour in May 2025 (BLS), from $10.83 in Louisiana to $22.95 in Washington. How to set a wage that hires and still fits your bill rate.
Caregiver pay in North Carolina by metro area
Last verified October 17, 2026 · All North Carolina resources
Home health and personal care aides in North Carolina earned a mean of $15.54 an hour and a median of $15.02 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is $1.82 below the national mean of $17.36. About 58,880 aides worked in North Carolina.
What is the pay range for caregivers in North Carolina?
| Measure | North Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $11.87 | $13.00 |
| Median | $15.02 | $17.21 |
| Mean | $15.54 | $17.36 |
| 90th percentile | $18.60 | $21.65 |
| Aides employed | 58,880 | 4,305,810 |
How much do caregivers make in North Carolina's largest metro areas?
| Metro area | Mean hourly | Aides employed |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $16.11 | 13,520 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $16.02 | 6,970 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | $14.96 | 4,620 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $15.38 | 3,480 |
Metro areas that cross state lines report figures for the whole metro.
How should an agency in North Carolina use these numbers?
Treat the mean as the going rate you compete with for applicants, and the 90th percentile as the wage that wins them. North Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour; see North Carolina overtime and minimum wage rules. Then build the wage into your price with the bill rate calculator, which adds payroll burden, overhead and margin.
Sources
More for North Carolina
Caregiver pay by state: other states
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