Conservation Scientists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,949
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$14,331
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,071
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
$77,280
Kept after tax
$62,949
Worth in national money
$71,071
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for conservation scientists. The middle earner takes $77,280, which ranks 15 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 5.85% above the national middle.
- Against other work in North Dakota, this sits in the middle: 121 of 460 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,280 you keep $62,949 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $71,071 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $79,540, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Dakota ranks 15 of 51 states publishing a median for conservation scientists, at $77,280 — about 5.85% 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.
- Conservation scientists ranks 121 of 460 occupations in North Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $62,949 after the full tax stack, from $77,280. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,071 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $79,540 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Conservation Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,300 |
| This salary | $77,280 |
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 | $62,949 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,196 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,037 |
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 | $76,928 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,339 |
| 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 $77,280. The published range is $51,470 up to $109,300, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $62,949, from $77,280, 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 121 of 460 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,071 uses one figure for the whole of North Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 460 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 121.
- Reported values are medians; for conservation scientists in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,470 to $109,300. 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 $62,949 from $77,280. 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 121 of 460 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,071, worked from $77,280, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular North Dakota address, on work sitting at 121 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $51,470 and the top tenth $109,300 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $71,071.
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, $62,949 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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($51,470) and the ninetieth ($109,300) 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 $71,071 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 $62,949 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.