Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,935
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$16,635
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,700
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
$84,570
Kept after tax
$67,935
Worth in national money
$76,700
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. North Dakota pays this job a middle wage of $84,570, ranking 14 of 51 states and sitting about 2.86% above the national middle.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 80 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $84,570 you keep $67,935 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $76,700 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $83,820.
- North Dakota's median for environmental scientists and specialists, including health is $84,570, about 2.86% above the national figure and 14 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.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits 80 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.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $67,935 after the full tax stack, from $84,570. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $76,700 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $83,820 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,300 |
| This salary | $84,570 |
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 | $67,935 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,325 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,389 |
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 | $84,016 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,825 |
| 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 $84,570. The published range is $60,110 up to $109,300, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $67,935, worked from $84,570. 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 80 of 460.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $76,700, the adjusted value of that $84,570 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 80 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for environmental scientists and specialists, including health in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,110 to $109,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Dakota take-home of $67,935, on $84,570 for work ranking 80 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 80 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $76,700 — the adjusted value of that $84,570 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 80 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $60,110 and the top tenth $109,300, so most people doing this work in North Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $76,700 in national terms.
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 $67,935 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($60,110 to $109,300) 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 $76,700 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 $67,935 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.