Cooks, Restaurant in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,484
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$4,986
13.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,546
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
$36,470
Kept after tax
$31,484
Worth in national money
$35,546
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Dakota pays cooks, restaurant around $36,470 at the midpoint, 32 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 460 occupations North Dakota publishes, cooks, restaurant lands at 428. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,470 you keep $31,484, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,546 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,690, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For cooks, restaurant the North Dakota median is $36,470, ranking 32 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.
- Within North Dakota, this work ranks 428 of 460 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for cooks, restaurant on $36,470 is $31,484. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,546 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 $36,690 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cooks, Restaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,650 |
| This salary | $36,470 |
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 | $31,484 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,484 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,147 |
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 | $36,470 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,806 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,470 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,850 and the ninetieth is $45,650 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $31,484, from $36,470, 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 428 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 $35,546 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 428.
- The North Dakota median of $36,470 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,850 to $45,650. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,484 from $36,470. 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 428 of 460 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,546, worked from $36,470, 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 428 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,850 at the tenth percentile, $45,650 at the ninetieth.
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 $35,546.
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 $31,484.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,850 to $45,650) 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 $35,546 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 $31,484 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.