SalaryExplorer

SOC 17-1011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval — Charlotte

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC · 6 metro areas compared

$98,620 /year
$47.41per hour
1,340jobs in area
−0.7%vs US median

At $98,620, median pay for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Charlotte, NC tracks the national median of $99,280 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $99,28010TH$65,69025TH$79,430MEDIAN$98,62075TH$126,68090TH$165,210

How pay has moved

$104,433$69,5582019202020212022202320242025$98,620
$76,170 in 2019 to $98,620 in 2025, +29.5% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+3.9%
Openings per year
7,800
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-job training
Internship/residency

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

10.5% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $98,620, median pay for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Charlotte, NC tracks the national median of $99,280 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $79,430 and $126,680. The lowest tenth earn under $65,690, while the highest tenth earn more than $165,210.

Employment stands at 1,340, or 1.0 jobs per thousand held locally. Asheville leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $103,100. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 109th of 660 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$65,690−33.8%
25th$79,430−20.0%
Median (50th)$98,620−0.7%
75th$126,680+27.6%
90th$165,210+66.4%
Mean$105,970+6.7%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Median annual wage for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Asheville$103,100120
2Durham$98,620230
3Greensboro$96,04090
4Wilmington$93,72080
5Raleigh$91,570790
6Winston-Salem$80,26070

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Charlotte run 2.7% below the national average, so the median of $98,620 goes as far as $101,357 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 2.1% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$98,620as reported by BLS

Local price level

97.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$101,357US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $98,620 a year, 0.7% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $65,690 to $165,210 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 1,340 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Asheville, at $103,100.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Charlotte, NC?

The median annual wage is $98,620, or $47.41 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $99,280, so pay in Charlotte, NC is 0.7% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Charlotte, NC earns more than $165,210 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $65,690 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Asheville, at $103,100 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 1,340 jobs in this occupation in Charlotte, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval Salary in Charlotte, NC (2025): $98,620 Median | Salary Explorer