Chief Executives in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$121,793
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$42,767
26.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$137,507
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
$164,560
Kept after tax
$121,793
Worth in national money
$137,507
State rank
37
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for chief executives is on the low side in North Dakota. The middle earner gets $164,560. That is 37 of 46 states, and about 23.1% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Dakota. It ranks 5 out of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $164,560 you keep $121,793, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $137,507 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $225,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For chief executives, North Dakota sits in the lower band at $164,560, ranking 37 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 23.1%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within North Dakota, chief executives ranks 5 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for chief executives on $164,560 is $121,793. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $137,507 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 $225,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Chief Executives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $104,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $164,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $464,030 |
| This salary | $164,560 |
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 | $121,793 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $123,743 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$10,167 |
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 | $161,707 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$14,455 |
| 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 $164,560. The published range is $104,590 up to $464,030, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $121,793, from $164,560, 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 5 of 460 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $137,507, the adjusted value of that $164,560 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 5 of 460 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for chief executives in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $104,590 to $464,030. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $121,793 from $164,560. 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 5 of 460 locally.
- This $137,507 adjusted figure, worked from $164,560, 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 5 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 5 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 $225,920, 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $104,590, the highest tenth $464,030, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $137,507.
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 $121,793.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $225,920. 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 ($104,590) and the ninetieth ($464,030) 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 $137,507 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 $121,793 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.