Cost Estimators in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,213
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$13,067
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,982
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
$73,280
Kept after tax
$60,213
Worth in national money
$67,982
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is among the lower-paying states for cost estimators. The middle earner takes $73,280, ranking 45 of 51 states — about 6.93% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 149.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $73,280 you keep $60,213, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $67,982 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $77,540, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 45 of 51 for cost estimators, with a median of $73,280 — about 6.93% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, cost estimators sits at 149 of 460 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for cost estimators on $73,280 is $60,213. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $67,982 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 $77,540 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cost Estimators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,050 |
| This salary | $73,280 |
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 | $60,213 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,382 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,844 |
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 | $73,039 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,072 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $73,280 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $52,730 and the ninetieth is $104,050 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $60,213, worked from $73,280. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 149 of 460.
- Two cautions on $67,982, the adjusted value of that $73,280 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 149 of 460 locally.
- The North Dakota median of $73,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $52,730 to $104,050. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Dakota take-home of $60,213, on $73,280 for work ranking 149 of 460 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 149 of 460 in the state.
- This $67,982 adjusted figure, worked from $73,280, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 149 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 149 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $77,540, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $52,730 at the tenth percentile, $104,050 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 $67,982 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 $60,213.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $77,540. 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 ($52,730 to $104,050) 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 $67,982 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 $60,213 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.