Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,414
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,616
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,919
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
$60,030
Kept after tax
$50,414
Worth in national money
$56,919
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Dakota pays this job a middle wage of $60,030, 37 of 51 states and about 6.16% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 236 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,030 you keep $50,414, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,919 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,140, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota's $60,030 median for elementary school teachers, except special education places it 37 of 51 states, about 6.16% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 236 of 460 in North Dakota places elementary school teachers, except special education 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for elementary school teachers, except special education on $60,030 is $50,414. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,919 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 $59,140 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,990 |
| This salary | $60,030 |
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 | $50,414 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,414 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,039 |
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 | $60,030 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,094 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,030 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $46,530 and the ninetieth is $75,990 — 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 $50,414, worked from $60,030. 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 236 of 460.
- Two cautions on $56,919, the adjusted value of that $60,030 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 236 of 460 locally.
- The North Dakota median of $60,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $46,530 to $75,990. 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 $50,414, on $60,030 for work ranking 236 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 236 of 460 in the state.
- This $56,919 adjusted figure, worked from $60,030, 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 236 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 236 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,530 at the bottom tenth to $75,990 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $56,919 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 $50,414 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,530 to $75,990) 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 $56,919 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 $50,414 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.