Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,486
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$15,504
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,936
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
$80,990
Kept after tax
$65,486
Worth in national money
$73,936
State rank
15
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. North Dakota's middle earner gets $80,990, putting the state 15 of 49 — about 3.37% ahead of the national figure.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 99 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,990 you keep $65,486, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $73,936 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $83,420, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other, North Dakota sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $80,990, ranking 15 of 49 and running about 3.37% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other sits 99 of 460 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other on $80,990 is $65,486. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $73,936 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 $83,420 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,010 |
| This salary | $80,990 |
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 | $65,486 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,806 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,216 |
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 | $80,535 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,586 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Dakota earn less than $80,990. The published range is $51,830 up to $109,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $65,486 take-home in North Dakota comes from $80,990. 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 99 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $73,936 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 99.
- Reported values are medians; for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,830 to $109,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $65,486, from $80,990, 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 99 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 15 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $73,936, worked from $80,990, 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 99 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $83,420, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,830 at the tenth percentile, $109,010 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 $73,936 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Dakota's own levy, $65,486 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $83,420. 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 ($51,830 to $109,010) 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 $73,936 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 $65,486 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.