Burlington, NC

Across all occupations in the Burlington, NC metropolitan area, the median wage is $44,010 a year ($21.16 an hour) and the mean $54,240, May 2025. That median is −14% against the US median of $50,980 and −8% against North Carolina's $47,970. BLS counts 67,830 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand.

All occupations: Burlington, NC vs North Carolina and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Burlington, NC area, North Carolina and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Burlington, NC	Hourly	$13.22	$16.33	$21.16	$29.47	$45.19	$26.08	67,830
Burlington, NC	Annual	$27,500	$33,960	$44,010	$61,290	$94,000	$54,240	67,830
North Carolina	Hourly	$13.74	$17.32	$23.06	$36.35	$57.52	$30.91	4,941,820
North Carolina	Annual	$28,580	$36,030	$47,970	$75,610	$119,640	$64,290	4,941,820
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

263 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: North Carolina. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Burlington, NC

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$350,130	$168.33	90
2	Dentists, General	$166,330	$79.96	60
3	Computer and Information Systems Managers in North Carolina	$165,490	$79.56	150
4	Marketing Managers	$164,770	$79.22	80
5	Natural Sciences Managers	$163,020	$78.38	40
6	Purchasing Managers	$152,870	$73.49	30
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$150,080	$72.16	60
8	Human Resources Managers	$135,220	$65.01	60
9	Financial Managers in North Carolina	$134,760	$64.79	190
10	Nurse Practitioners	$131,980	$63.45	80
11	Pharmacists	$130,730	$62.85	120
12	Veterinarians	$129,800	$62.41	40
13	Sales Managers in North Carolina	$129,740	$62.38	200
14	Software Developers in North Carolina	$127,570	$61.33	270
15	Electrical Engineers	$119,650	$57.53	30
16	Computer Systems Analysts	$118,590	$57.02	100
17	Computer Network Architects	$118,130	$56.79	50
18	Physician Assistants	$113,200	$54.42	50
19	Industrial Production Managers	$112,690	$54.18	180
20	Managers, All Other in North Carolina	$112,090	$53.89	180

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Burlington, NC

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in North Carolina	2,660	39.16	2.06	$43,750
2	Retail Salespersons in North Carolina	2,570	37.92	1.51	$29,630
3	Cashiers in North Carolina	1,950	28.68	1.44	$28,690
4	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	1,820	26.86	12.54	$51,000
5	Stockers and Order Fillers in North Carolina	1,810	26.72	1.47	$35,620
6	Cooks, Fast Food in North Carolina	1,680	24.77	6.01	$27,450
7	Fast Food and Counter Workers in North Carolina	1,480	21.83	0.88	$27,710
8	Customer Service Representatives in North Carolina	1,290	19.05	1.14	$41,040
9	Waiters and Waitresses in North Carolina	1,100	16.24	1.11	$29,330
10	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in North Carolina	1,090	16.07	1.78	$46,650
11	Registered Nurses in North Carolina	1,080	15.92	0.73	$84,180
12	Nursing Assistants in North Carolina	1,020	15.08	1.62	$39,090
12	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in North Carolina	1,020	14.98	1.13	$56,290
14	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in North Carolina	920	13.59	0.96	$35,250
15	General and Operations Managers in North Carolina	900	13.25	0.59	$94,250
16	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in North Carolina	870	12.90	0.47	$30,420
17	Office Clerks, General in North Carolina	810	11.92	0.75	$38,760
18	Cooks, Restaurant in North Carolina	740	10.85	1.20	$32,830
19	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in North Carolina	730	10.80	0.98	$44,630
20	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in North Carolina	670	9.84	1.10	$56,740

Most concentrated occupations in Burlington, NC

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders	48.66	110	1.66	$35,400
2	Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	42.01	240	3.52	$33,540
3	Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other	20.32	120	1.77	$36,380
4	Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	18.01	170	2.55	$35,980
5	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	12.54	1,820	26.86	$51,000
6	Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors	7.44	120	1.78	$48,750
7	Cooks, Fast Food in North Carolina	6.01	1,680	24.77	$27,450
8	Couriers and Messengers	5.95	180	2.63	$38,340
9	Helpers--Electricians	5.42	150	2.22	$35,140
10	Sewing Machine Operators	4.04	180	2.72	$29,570

Occupation groups in Burlington, NC

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$102,620	$122,110	3,560	52.42	0.73
Computer and Mathematical	$95,620	$100,300	1,090	16.07	0.47
Architecture and Engineering	$81,550	$87,660	670	9.87	0.59
Business and Financial Operations	$73,580	$79,260	2,940	43.33	0.64
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$68,840	$80,080	500	7.44	0.79
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$67,150	$80,640	5,220	76.94	1.22
Legal	$64,140	$87,020	220	3.25	0.39
Protective Service	$56,820	$55,230	1,220	17.96	0.74
Community and Social Service	$56,050	$55,060	880	12.91	0.75
Educational Instruction and Library	$49,790	$55,710	3,880	57.20	0.98
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$49,040	$53,930	2,860	42.14	1.08
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$48,560	$65,500	600	8.77	0.67
Construction and Extraction	$47,630	$51,660	2,340	34.46	0.83
Office and Administrative Support	$43,870	$45,690	7,010	103.30	0.90
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$43,090	$43,510	40	0.61	0.22
Transportation and Material Moving	$41,460	$43,090	8,510	125.45	1.43
Production	$40,590	$43,790	5,630	82.97	1.51
Healthcare Support	$37,900	$39,110	2,890	42.58	0.84
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$35,480	$36,570	1,920	28.28	0.97
Sales and Related	$34,050	$43,890	7,360	108.57	1.26
Personal Care and Service	$31,200	$36,270	1,150	17.00	0.81
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$28,550	$31,930	7,360	108.49	1.23

Every occupation in North Carolina, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 263 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Burlington, NC estimates (area 15500).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Burlington, NC area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.