Desktop Support Technician Salary in Raleigh-Cary, NC
This is what we do all day: recruit technology and IT professionals.
Technology Headhunters uses BLS OEWS data to answer this pay question. For Desktop Support Technician, this guide uses Computer User Support Specialists (SOC 15-1232) in Raleigh-Cary, NC. BLS estimates the median wage for that occupation at $62,460 a year, and the middle half of workers earned between $48,940 and $79,680 (BLS OEWS May 2025). BLS does not measure this exact title separately.
Broader occupation
BLS does not report this exact title. The figures shown are for SOC 15-1232, Computer User Support Specialists. BLS reports Computer User Support Specialists as a broader occupation. It does not separate Desktop Support Technician, technology stack, seniority, certifications or employer sector. These figures are not a title-specific offer range.
BLS publishes one set of figures for SOC 15-1232. Other titles in our taxonomy map to it and show the same numbers. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation. They are not experience levels.
The Raleigh-Cary, NC median is $600 above the national median of $61,860 (1.0%).
Role median / all-occupation median1.20x$62,460 / $51,990
Location quotient (employment concentration)1.55Not a pay adjustment
Employment5,320BLS estimate
Desktop Support Technician, Raleigh-Cary, NC: Computer User Support Specialists, SOC 15-1232
Measure
Per year
10th percentile
$39,370
25th percentile
$48,940
Median
$62,460
75th percentile
$79,680
90th percentile
$99,640
Mean
$67,510
Desktop Support Technician, North Carolina: Computer User Support Specialists, SOC 15-1232
Measure
Per year
10th percentile
$38,270
25th percentile
$47,520
Median
$60,120
75th percentile
$77,130
90th percentile
$97,210
Mean
$64,720
Desktop Support Technician, United States: Computer User Support Specialists, SOC 15-1232
Measure
Per year
10th percentile
$40,980
25th percentile
$49,000
Median
$61,860
75th percentile
$79,040
90th percentile
$100,540
Mean
$67,330
Only a cell carrying the source's # marker is displayed as "or more." The May 2025 release notes define that marker as $239,200 a year or $115.00 an hour or greater. This is a lower bound for marked cells, not a universal wage ceiling. Published numeric values, including values above those amounts, are retained unchanged. Suppressed or unavailable cells are not assigned a wage.
Relative pay is the role's annual median divided by the BLS all-occupations (SOC 00-0000) annual median for Raleigh-Cary, NC. Location quotient compares this occupation's share of local jobs with its national share. It measures concentration, not pay.
What these figures leave out for technology hires
BLS OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay. They include base rate, guaranteed pay, incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses, and cost-of-living allowances. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, severance and employer-paid benefits.
Our interpretation, not a BLS statement: the BLS definition does not name stock or equity grants, so we treat them as outside these figures and add nothing for them. If a technology offer leans on discretionary bonus or equity, we read the published figure as describing only the cash pay inside the BLS definition.
BLS definition: Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
May 2024 and May 2025 medians
Desktop Support Technician, Raleigh-Cary, NC median by BLS reference period
Period
Median
May 2024
$60,010
May 2025
$62,460
The median moved up $2,450 (+4.1%), from $60,010 in May 2024 to $62,460 in May 2025. Survey estimates carry sampling error, so small moves may not be meaningful.
These are published government statistical wage estimates, not observed individual offers or a separate technology-title survey. A broader occupation or proxy is not separate pay data for your job title.
What do these figures mean for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh?
For Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh, the May 2025 median is $62,460 per year for Computer User Support Specialists (SOC 15-1232); it describes workers in that BLS occupation and geography, not an independent survey of this recruiting title or a quote for a candidate with a particular background.
The middle half of the occupation behind Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh runs from $48,940 to $79,680, a $30,740 band; compare responsibilities before using those endpoints in an offer, because the distribution does not identify junior, senior or management pay grades.
For Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh, the outer published markers are $39,370 at P10 and $99,640 at P90; an amount between those points has no exact percentile assigned here, while a source-marked lower bound stays open and an unavailable wage stays unavailable rather than becoming zero.
The Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh occupation median compares with $61,860 nationally, a difference of $600; both cells use SOC 15-1232, and the difference is neither a cost-of-living adjustment nor a premium every local candidate receives for doing the job.
Area comparisons for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh include Goldsboro, NC at $52,370 and Rocky Mount, NC at $49,830; these metros are selected by Census reference-point distance, not commuting time, and each figure remains tied to its own BLS area rather than replacing an unpublished local estimate.
No comparable May 2024 median is available for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh, so no release-to-release change is calculated; the $62,460 May 2025 median stands on its own reference period, and the missing earlier cell establishes neither growth nor decline in wages for the occupation or this opening.
When discussing an offer for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh, keep equity and RSUs separate from the $62,460 occupation median; OEWS includes commissions and production bonuses but excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits, making it neither pure base salary nor total compensation for the person you hire.
BLS employment for the occupation behind Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh is 5,320; this describes employment in Computer User Support Specialists (SOC 15-1232), not available applicants, so use it to understand the occupation's presence while keeping the search for a person with your required systems knowledge and ownership scope separate.
Which national industries report pay for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh?
The table below gives released national industry medians for Computer User Support Specialists (SOC 15-1232), selected for this Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh discussion. These Desktop Support Technician industry rows are national cuts, not industry-specific wages for Raleigh.
National industry rows for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh, BLS May 2025
BLS industry
NAICS
Published median
Employment
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
237300
$98,080
360
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals
622300
$79,740
610
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
523000
$79,600
5,250
Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors
238110
$76,290
100
Roofing Contractors
238160
$75,920
150
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
238310
$74,440
40
Questions about Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh
Which occupation prices Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh?
The Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh figures use Computer User Support Specialists, SOC 15-1232. BLS does not release an exact rate for an employer's particular Desktop Support Technician opening in Raleigh.
Does the Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh band price seniority?
The $48,940 to $79,680 band describes the published occupation distribution for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh. It is not a junior-to-senior ladder for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh.
Can I treat the May 2025 Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh median as a complete offer?
The $62,460 wage cell for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh starts a cash-pay comparison. Benefits and equity for Desktop Support Technician in Raleigh need a separate discussion from this BLS cell.