The Salary Index
Salary data is based on the Wilmington, NC metropolitan area and applied to Wilmington using local cost-of-living adjustments.

Textile Salaries in Wilmington, NC

Average Base Pay

$37,965/yr

Monthly

$3,164

Hourly

$18

Cost Index

93

Textile in Wilmington, NC earn an average of $37,965 per year, with most salaries falling between $30,372 and $45,558 depending on experience, employer, and specialization. Wilmington salaries align closely with the national average for this role, in part reflecting a local cost of living index of 93. For professionals evaluating a move or negotiating an offer, the headline salary is only part of the picture—what matters most is how far that income actually goes once taxes, rent, and daily expenses are factored in. The sections below break that down in full for Wilmington.

Salary Range

The chart below shows the full compensation spectrum for this role, from entry-level to senior positions. The highlighted center bars represent the 25th–75th percentile band where most professionals are paid.

$28K
Low
$38K
Median
$47K
High
25th percentile: $32K75th percentile: $44K

About Textile

Manufacturing Engineers develop, implement, and improve manufacturing processes that transform raw materials and components into finished products efficiently, safely, and to quality standards. They design and commission production lines, select manufacturing equipment, develop process parameters and work instructions, and troubleshoot production problems. In new product introduction, manufacturing engineers collaborate with product design teams from early development to ensure that product designs are manufacturable—flagging design features that are difficult or costly to produce and proposing design changes that improve producibility. They conduct process validation studies demonstrating that processes consistently produce output within specifications, write manufacturing process documentation, and develop operator training materials. Process improvement is continuous: manufacturing engineers collect and analyze production data, identify sources of scrap, yield loss, and cycle time inefficiency, and implement lean manufacturing improvements including 5S, standardized work, and error-proofing (poka-yoke). In regulated industries such as medical devices or pharmaceuticals, they manage process validation per FDA and ISO requirements.

What Textiles Do

  • Design and implement manufacturing processes for new or existing products
  • Select, specify, and commission manufacturing equipment and tooling
  • Develop process parameters, work instructions, and operator training materials
  • Conduct process capability studies and manufacturing process validation
  • Troubleshoot production quality and efficiency problems
  • Collaborate with product design on design for manufacturability
  • Lead lean manufacturing improvement projects (5S, kaizen, standard work)
  • Manage process documentation and engineering change control

Key Skills & Qualifications

  • Manufacturing process design and optimization
  • CAD software for fixture and tooling design
  • Statistical process control (SPC) and process capability analysis
  • Lean manufacturing tools (5S, Kanban, SMED, poka-yoke)
  • Design for manufacturability and assembly (DFM/DFA)
  • Process validation methodology (IQ/OQ/PQ)
  • PLC and automation fundamentals
  • Engineering change management and document control

Career Path

  1. Manufacturing Engineer I
  2. Manufacturing Engineer II
  3. Senior Manufacturing Engineer
  4. Lead Manufacturing Engineer / Process Engineering Manager
  5. Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Textile Market in Wilmington, NC

Salary Competitiveness

Wilmington salaries for Textiles track closely with the national median, diverging by less than 4%. This alignment suggests a competitive but balanced local market—employers are broadly in step with national pay scales, which can make benchmark comparisons more reliable when negotiating.

Cost of Living Impact

Wilmington sits close to the national cost average. Monthly essential expenses represent about 108% of take-home pay for this role—a midrange ratio that allows for modest savings and discretionary spending, provided housing costs remain stable.

Effective Purchasing Power

Despite a competitive gross salary, a Textile earning $37,965 in Wilmington operates in a tight purchasing-power band once taxes and local cost of living are applied. Careful planning around housing, transportation, and discretionary spending is essential to avoid running negative disposable income month to month.

vs. National Avg

≈ Average

Cost Pressure

108%

Purchasing Power

Tight

Take-Home Pay Calculator

Enter any gross salary to see how federal and state taxes affect your actual take-home pay, broken down by year, month, and week. Results use an estimated effective tax rate of 27% based on this location and income level.

$
Take-home (73%)Taxes (27%)

Annual Net

$27,714

Monthly

$2,310

Weekly

$533

Eff. Tax Rate

27%

A gross salary of $37,965 for a Textile in Wilmington translates to roughly $2,310 in monthly take-home pay after estimated federal and state taxes. Set against monthly living costs of $2,493—covering housing, food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare—that leaves approximately $-183 per month in disposable income. That margin, not the gross number, is what determines whether you can comfortably cover rent, build savings, and afford discretionary spending in Wilmington's current market.

How far does this salary go in Wilmington?

Cost of Living in Wilmington

Estimated monthly expenses for a single person in Wilmington, benchmarked against US regional price indices for housing, food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare.

Cost Index

93

Below Avg — US average is 100. Based on a single person (1-bed apartment).

🏠Housing / Rent$1,420/mo
🍔Food & Groceries$475/mo
🚗Transportation$130/mo
💡Utilities$170/mo
🏥Healthcare$298/mo
Monthly$2,493
Annual$29,916

Financial Reality Check

This section compares estimated monthly take-home pay against typical living costs in Wilmington to show your real disposable income—the amount remaining after essential bills are paid each month.

Monthly Take-Home

$2,310

Living Costs

$2,493

Disposable

$-183

Cost Index

93

Lifestyle

Tight

With a monthly take-home of $2,310, your estimated living costs in Wilmington are $2,493 ($29,916/yr). This leaves $-183 per month in disposable income, indicating a tight standard of living. Wilmington's cost of living is 7% below the national average.

Overall, a Textile earning $37,965 in Wilmington falls into a tight lifestyle tier and will need to budget carefully—essential costs consume a significant share of take-home pay, leaving limited room for savings or emergencies. With a cost index of 93, Wilmington is 7% more affordable than the national average, which extends your purchasing power. Regardless of tier, prioritizing retirement contributions, an emergency fund of three to six months' expenses, and incremental debt reduction will yield the greatest long-term financial stability—especially as living costs in Wilmington continue to evolve.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Textile · Wilmington, NCat avg

Gross Salary

$37,965/yr

Take-home

$2,310/mo

Disposable

$-183/mo

Lifestyle

Tight

Source: thesalaryindex.com · BLS data

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Salary estimates are based on BLS metro data and adjusted using cost-of-living indices.