Food Preparation Workers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,749
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,051
13.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,845
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
$36,800
Kept after tax
$31,749
Worth in national money
$35,845
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. North Dakota pays food preparation workers a middle wage of $36,800, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 4.19% above the national middle.
- Within North Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, food preparation workers ranks 425. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $36,800 you keep $31,749 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,845 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $36,210.
- North Dakota's median for food preparation workers is $36,800, about 4.19% above the national figure and 8 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.
- Against every occupation North Dakota reports, food preparation workers ranks 425 of 460, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $31,749 after the full tax stack, from $36,800. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,845 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $36,210 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,840 |
| This salary | $36,800 |
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 | $31,749 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,749 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,173 |
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 | $36,800 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,838 |
| 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 $36,800. The published range is $28,400 up to $43,840, 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 $31,749, worked from $36,800. 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 425 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 $35,845, the adjusted value of that $36,800 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 425 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for food preparation workers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,400 to $43,840. 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 $31,749, on $36,800 for work ranking 425 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 425 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $35,845 — the adjusted value of that $36,800 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 425 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,400 at the tenth percentile, $43,840 at the ninetieth.
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 $35,845.
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 $31,749 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 ($28,400 to $43,840) 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 $35,845 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 $31,749 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.