Chefs and Head Cooks in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,211
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$13,529
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,109
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
$74,740
Kept after tax
$61,211
Worth in national money
$69,109
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for chefs and head cooks. The middle earner takes $74,740, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 19.64% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 138.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $74,740 you keep $61,211 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $69,109 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $68,520.
- North Dakota ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for chefs and head cooks, at $74,740 — about 19.64% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 138 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.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $61,211 after the full tax stack, from $74,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,109 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $68,520 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,190 |
| This salary | $74,740 |
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 | $61,211 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,410 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,914 |
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 | $74,458 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,170 |
| 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 chefs and head cooks in North Dakota earn under $74,740 and half over. The published range runs $48,240 at the tenth percentile to $85,190 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $61,211, from $74,740, 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 138 of 460 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $69,109, the adjusted value of that $74,740 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 138 of 460 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for chefs and head cooks in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,240 to $85,190; 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 $61,211 from $74,740. 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 138 of 460 locally.
- This $69,109 adjusted figure, worked from $74,740, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 138 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 138 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $68,520, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $48,240 and the top tenth $85,190, so most people doing this work in North Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $69,109 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Dakota's own levy, $61,211 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $68,520. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,240 to $85,190) 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 $69,109 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 $61,211 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.