Court, Municipal, and License Clerks in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,448
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,402
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,312
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
$53,850
Kept after tax
$45,448
Worth in national money
$51,312
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. North Dakota pays court, municipal, and license clerks a middle wage of $53,850, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 10.57% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 286.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $53,850 you keep $45,448, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,312 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $55,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota's median for court, municipal, and license clerks is $53,850, about 10.57% above the national figure and 12 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, court, municipal, and license clerks sits at 286 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 court, municipal, and license clerks on $53,850 is $45,448. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,312 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 $55,060 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,790 |
| This salary | $53,850 |
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 | $45,448 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,448 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,543 |
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 | $53,850 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,494 |
| 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 court, municipal, and license clerks in North Dakota earn under $53,850 and half over. The published range runs $38,790 at the tenth percentile to $74,790 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $45,448 take-home in North Dakota comes from $53,850. 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 286 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,312 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 286.
- Figures are distribution medians for court, municipal, and license clerks in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,790 to $74,790; 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.
- Retained pay of $45,448, from $53,850, 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 286 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,312, worked from $53,850, 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 286 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,790 at the bottom tenth to $74,790 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $51,312.
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 $45,448.
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 ($38,790 to $74,790) 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 $51,312 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 $45,448 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.