Civil Engineers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,251
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$20,939
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,219
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
$98,190
Kept after tax
$77,251
Worth in national money
$87,219
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 30 of 51 states for civil engineers, with a middle wage of $98,190. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Dakota. It ranks 55 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 $98,190 the take-home is $77,251; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $87,219 would nationally. The average comes to $98,780, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Dakota ranks 30 of 51 for civil engineers at $98,190. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within North Dakota, civil engineers ranks 55 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 civil engineers in North Dakota, on $98,190, is $77,251 — equivalent to $87,219 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. At $98,780 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Civil Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $143,740 |
| This salary | $98,190 |
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 | $77,251 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,907 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$7,047 |
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 | $97,258 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,734 |
| 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 $98,190. The published range is $63,290 up to $143,740, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $77,251, from $98,190, 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 55 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 $87,219, the adjusted value of that $98,190 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 55 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for civil engineers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,290 to $143,740. 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 $77,251 from $98,190. 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 55 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $87,219 — the adjusted value of that $98,190 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 55 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $63,290, the highest tenth $143,740, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $87,219 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 $77,251.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,290) and the ninetieth ($143,740) 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 $87,219 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 $77,251 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.