Couriers and Messengers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,785
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,305
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,015
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
$38,090
Kept after tax
$32,785
Worth in national money
$37,015
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for couriers and messengers. The median is $38,090, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 411 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,090 you keep $32,785, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,015 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for couriers and messengers: a median of $38,090, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Couriers and messengers occupies position 411 of 460 in North Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for couriers and messengers on $38,090 is $32,785. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,015 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 $41,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,150 |
| This salary | $38,090 |
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 | $32,785 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,785 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,277 |
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 | $38,090 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,963 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of couriers and messengers in North Dakota earn under $38,090 and half over. The published range runs $31,740 at the tenth percentile to $48,150 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $32,785, from $38,090, 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 411 of 460 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $37,015, the adjusted value of that $38,090 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 411 of 460 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,740 to $48,150; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,785 from $38,090. 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 411 of 460 locally.
- This $37,015 adjusted figure, worked from $38,090, 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 411 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 411 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 $41,120 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 — $31,740 at the tenth percentile, $48,150 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,015 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $32,785 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 $41,120. 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 ($31,740 to $48,150) 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 $37,015 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 $32,785 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.