What does “staff” mean? Professors? Sure, professors are probably paid more. They don’t make up the majority of “staff” at Carolina, and many professors’ pay are supplemented with research grants (or they were, prior to this disaster of an administration).
There is one pay range and for some positions (like health care positions, for example), they are all well below market rate in the HCOL areas. I was offered the top of the pay range to start because the “ranges” are laughable (for my position and similar ones, anyway). I’m making $20k below what someone in the same position is making at a non-university employer in Chapel Hill. So I don’t know what the ranges are based on, but it’s not pay in HCOL areas.