How much do Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers make in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?

Percentile spread

For Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers, the published 10th percentile is $51,890 and the 90th percentile is $139,900. The difference is $88,010, which is 94.1% 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 $71,940 to the 75th at $120,390, covers $48,450.

The mean annual wage is $97,040, which sits above the median of $93,540. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC median is 10.3% lower than the national median of $104,300 for Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $105,712, which is 1.4% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 6.8% lower than the North Carolina median of $100,390.

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 $93,540 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers at $105,712 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

19 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ranks 14th of 20 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 $81,990 and employment of 3,900. That median is 12.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $84,224, against $105,712 here.
• Asheville, NC is 64 miles away, with a median of $114,510 and employment of 100. That median is 22.4% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $118,656, against $105,712 here.
• Winston-Salem, NC is 65 miles away, with a median of $69,390 and employment of 190. That median is 25.8% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $75,389, against $105,712 here.

Employment share

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers accounts for 0.03% of wage-and-salary employment in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (50 of 154,090). Nationally the occupation is 0.12% of employment (186,740 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.27 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.