Art Directors in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,977
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$16,193
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,619
North Dakota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Dakota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$83,170
Kept after tax
$66,977
Worth in national money
$75,619
State rank
30
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for art directors. The median is $83,170, ranking 30 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Dakota. It ranks 85 out of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $83,170 the take-home is $66,977; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $75,619 would nationally. The average sits at $83,170, the same as the middle.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for art directors: a median of $83,170, ranking 30 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within North Dakota, art directors ranks 85 of 460 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for art directors in North Dakota, on $83,170, is $66,977 — equivalent to $75,619 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. Mean and median are identical at $83,170, unusual in wage data and worth noting.
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Pay band: Art Directors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,290 |
| This salary | $83,170 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in North Dakota | $66,977 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,340 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,322 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $82,655 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,732 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of art directors in North Dakota earn under $83,170 and half over. The published range runs $53,200 at the tenth percentile to $104,290 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $66,977, from $83,170, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 85 of 460 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,619, the adjusted value of that $83,170 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 85 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for art directors in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $53,200 to $104,290; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $66,977 from $83,170. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 85 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $75,619 — the adjusted value of that $83,170 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 85 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $53,200 at the tenth percentile, $104,290 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. North Dakota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $75,619 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Dakota then takes its own share, leaving $66,977.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($53,200 to $104,290) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Dakota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Dakota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $75,619 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $66,977 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Dakota income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.