Construction Laborers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,608
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,462
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,976
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
$49,070
Kept after tax
$41,608
Worth in national money
$46,976
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Dakota pays construction laborers around $49,070 at the midpoint, 22 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Construction laborers ranks 322 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $49,070 the take-home is $41,608; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,976 would nationally. The average comes to $53,150, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For construction laborers the North Dakota median is $49,070, ranking 22 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 322 of 460 in North Dakota places construction laborers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for construction laborers in North Dakota, on $49,070, is $41,608 — equivalent to $46,976 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 $53,150 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,210 |
| This salary | $49,070 |
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 | $41,608 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,608 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,159 |
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 | $49,070 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,030 |
| 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 $49,070. The published range is $38,990 up to $71,210, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $41,608 take-home in North Dakota comes from $49,070. 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 322 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,976 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 322.
- Reported values are medians; for construction laborers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,990 to $71,210. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $41,608, from $49,070, 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 322 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,976, worked from $49,070, 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 322 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 $53,150 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,990 at the tenth percentile, $71,210 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,976 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Dakota adds its own income tax on top — which is why $41,608 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $53,150. 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 ($38,990 to $71,210) 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 $46,976 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 $41,608 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.