Cargo and Freight Agents in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,754
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,476
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,657
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
$54,230
Kept after tax
$45,754
Worth in national money
$51,657
State rank
17
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 17 of 48 states for cargo and freight agents, with a middle wage of $54,230. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 282.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,230 you keep $45,754, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,657 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $64,630, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 17 of 48 for cargo and freight agents at $54,230. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, cargo and freight agents sits at 282 of 460 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for cargo and freight agents on $54,230 is $45,754. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,657 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $64,630 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cargo and Freight Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,960 |
| This salary | $54,230 |
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 | $45,754 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,754 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,573 |
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 | $54,230 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,531 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Dakota earn less than $54,230. The published range is $38,530 up to $98,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $45,754 take-home in North Dakota comes from $54,230. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 282 of 460.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,657, the adjusted value of that $54,230 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 282 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cargo and freight agents in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,530 to $98,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $45,754, from $54,230, assumes a single North Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 282 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 17 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $51,657 — the adjusted value of that $54,230 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 282 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $64,630, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,530 at the bottom tenth to $98,960 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $51,657.
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 $45,754.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in North Dakota is $64,630. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($38,530) and the ninetieth ($98,960) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $51,657 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 $45,754 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.