How much do Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand make in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?

Percentile spread

For Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand, the published 10th percentile is $35,600 and the 90th percentile is $42,090. The difference is $6,490, which is 17.7% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $35,600 to the 75th at $37,690, covers $2,090.

The mean annual wage is $37,460, which sits above the median of $36,680. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC median is 14% lower than the national median of $42,660 for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand. In 2024 national prices the local median is $41,453, which is 2.8% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 2.4% lower than the North Carolina median of $37,600.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC is 88.486, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $36,680 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand at $41,453 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

4 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ranks 5th of 5 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC is 58 miles away, with a median of $39,750 and employment of 50. That median is 8.4% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $40,833, against $41,453 here.
• Greensboro-High Point, NC is 94 miles away, with a median of $38,240 and employment of 40. That median is 4.3% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $41,178, against $41,453 here.
• Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC is 95 miles away, with a median of $36,960 and employment of 30. That median is 0.8% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,631, against $41,453 here.

Employment share

Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand accounts for 0.07% of wage-and-salary employment in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (110 of 154,090). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (10,510 of 155,495,730). The local share is 10.56 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.