First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in North Dakota

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,326
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$20,974
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,303
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
$98,300
Kept after tax
$77,326
Worth in national money
$87,303
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 28 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $98,300. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 460 occupations North Dakota reports, this job comes in at 54 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $98,300 you keep $77,326, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $87,303 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $101,300, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 28 of 51 for first-line supervisors of police and detectives at $98,300. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- First-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 54 of 460 occupations by median in North Dakota, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for first-line supervisors of police and detectives on $98,300 is $77,326. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $87,303 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 $101,300 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,430 |
| This salary | $98,300 |
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 | $77,326 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,984 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$7,052 |
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 | $97,365 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,741 |
| 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 $98,300. The published range is $77,090 up to $128,430, 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 $77,326, worked from $98,300. 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 54 of 460.
- Two cautions on $87,303, the adjusted value of that $98,300 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 54 of 460 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for first-line supervisors of police and detectives in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $77,090 to $128,430. 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 $77,326, on $98,300 for work ranking 54 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 54 of 460 in the state.
- This $87,303 adjusted figure, worked from $98,300, 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 54 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 54 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 $101,300 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $77,090 at the bottom tenth to $128,430 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 $87,303 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, $77,326 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $101,300. 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 ($77,090 to $128,430) 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 $87,303 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 $77,326 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.