Computer Programmers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,209
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$19,071
20.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$82,654
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
$92,280
Kept after tax
$73,209
Worth in national money
$82,654
State rank
28
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 28 of 46 states for computer programmers, with a middle wage of $92,280. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, computer programmers ranks 64 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $92,280 you keep $73,209, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $82,654 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $97,550, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 28 of 46 for computer programmers at $92,280. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, computer programmers sits 64 of 460 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for computer programmers on $92,280 is $73,209. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $82,654 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 $97,550 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $138,960 |
| This salary | $92,280 |
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 | $73,209 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,749 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,762 |
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 | $91,512 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,340 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $92,280 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $59,530 and the ninetieth is $138,960 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $73,209 take-home in North Dakota comes from $92,280. 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 64 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 $82,654, the adjusted value of that $92,280 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 64 of 460 in the state.
- The North Dakota median of $92,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $59,530 to $138,960. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $73,209, from $92,280, 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 64 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $82,654 — the adjusted value of that $92,280 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 64 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $97,550 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $59,530 and the top tenth $138,960 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $82,654 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 $73,209.
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.
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 $97,550. 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 ($59,530) and the ninetieth ($138,960) 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 $82,654 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 $73,209 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.