What Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn in Davidson County, NC
The median pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Davidson County, NC is $37,160 per year, which works out to $17.87 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Winston-Salem, NC metropolitan area, the labor market that Davidson County, NC belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $38,680, which is 4.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,490 people working in this occupation across the Winston-Salem, NC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Davidson County, NC has roughly 172,954 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in the Winston-Salem, NC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $29,860 a year ($14.36 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $48,700 or more ($23.41 an hour). That is a gap of $18,840 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $34,410 at the 25th percentile and $44,040 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.87 an hour or $37,160 a year at the median for Davidson County, NC. Before any deductions, that is $3,097 a month, $1,429 every two weeks and $715 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.88 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand this way: "Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs"; "Move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, or containers, by hand or using trucks, tractors, or other equipment"; "Maintain equipment storage areas to ensure that inventory is protected".
Job outlook for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 2,940,300 jobs in 2025 to 2,991,900 in 2035, a change of +1.8%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 340,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 11.6% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $40,240 for this occupation; the Davidson County, NC median of $37,160 is 7.7% below it.
How pay in Davidson County, NC compares
Compared with the North Carolina average
Pay in Davidson County, NC runs $1,015 below the North Carolina average of $38,175, a gap of 2.7%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of North Carolina would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within North Carolina, the highest median we track for this job is $39,160 in Currituck County, NC.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $41,056 across the contiguous United States. At $37,160, Davidson County, NC pays $3,896 less, which is 9.5% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Davidson County, NC
Among the 415 occupations with published wages in Davidson County, NC, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand ranks number 348 by median pay, ahead of about 16% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Registered Nurses at $86,120 a year, which is $48,960 more than the median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earning the Davidson County, NC median of $37,160, they add up to $6,211. The result is $30,949 of take-home pay a year ($2,579 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $21,410. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,331, an effective 6.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,304 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $539. FICA totals $2,843, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in North Carolina
North Carolina income tax on this salary is $1,037 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 45% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $86 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Davidson County, NC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Davidson County, NC show an average adjusted gross income of $68,926 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 10.7% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.7%, compared with the 6.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Davidson County, NC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Davidson County, NC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,949 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Davidson County, NC, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $999 a month ($11,988 a year), and at $1,087 for two bedrooms. For Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, a one-bedroom absorbs 38.7% of take-home pay and 32.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.2% of gross pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Davidson County, NC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using North Carolina residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,493 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $645, for $2,138 in total. Gasoline in North Carolina averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,472.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $19,034 a year in Davidson County, NC. Subtract that from $30,949 of take-home pay and $11,916 remains, which is $993 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 32.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Davidson County, NC
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Davidson County, NC: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Davidson County, NC, set beside the North Carolina and national medians.
Property taxes in Davidson County, NC
Homeowners in Davidson County, NC pay a median of $1,320 a year in real estate taxes, 30% below the North Carolina median of $1,896 and 58% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $219,100, the median tax bill is 0.60% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand median of $37,160, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Davidson County, NC
Renters in Davidson County, NC pay a median gross rent of $901 a month in the Census survey, 27% below the North Carolina median of $1,228. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $999 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $219,100, 24% below the North Carolina median of $288,900. Median household income is $64,172, 11% below the North Carolina median of $72,388, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.7% of that income.
Commuting in Davidson County, NC
Workers in Davidson County, NC who travel to a workplace spend an average of 24.3 minutes each way, 3% below the North Carolina average of 25.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.0 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 9.7% of workers in Davidson County, NC work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford to live in Davidson County, NC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $37,160 that ceiling is $929 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $999 is $70 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $19.21 an hour; the median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $17.87, which is 7% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.88 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 15.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,087 a month means $544 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,466 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $17,382.
How fast you can save
At $993 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 11 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 22 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Davidson County, NC
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand make per hour in Davidson County, NC?
The median is $17.87 per hour, based on $37,160 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $14.36 at the 10th percentile to $23.41 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand take home after taxes in Davidson County, NC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $37,160 becomes $30,949 a year. That is $2,579 a month, $1,190 every two weeks or $595 a week.
How much tax do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Davidson County, NC?
Total taxes are $6,211 a year, an effective rate of 16.7%: $2,331 federal income tax, $2,843 FICA and $1,037 North Carolina income tax.
Do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn more in Davidson County, NC than elsewhere in North Carolina?
No. The local median of $37,160 is -2.7% versus the North Carolina average of $38,175, a difference of $1,015 a year.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford a one-bedroom apartment in Davidson County, NC?
A one-bedroom costs $999 a month against take-home pay of $2,579, which is 38.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $929 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Davidson County, NC?
About $993 a month ($11,916 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $19,034 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Davidson County, NC at the 30% guideline?
$19.21 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $11,988 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $17.87.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Winston-Salem, NC metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the North Carolina rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.