Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,837
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,073
13.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,945
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
$36,910
Kept after tax
$31,837
Worth in national money
$35,945
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for food servers, nonrestaurant. The middle earner takes $36,910, which ranks 10 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 4.38% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 423 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,910 the take-home is $31,837; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $35,945 would nationally. The average comes to $38,080, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Dakota ranks 10 of 51 states publishing a median for food servers, nonrestaurant, at $36,910 — about 4.38% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Food servers, nonrestaurant occupies position 423 of 460 in North Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for food servers, nonrestaurant in North Dakota, on $36,910, is $31,837 — equivalent to $35,945 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $38,080 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,320 |
| This salary | $36,910 |
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 | $31,837 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,837 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,182 |
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 | $36,910 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,849 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of food servers, nonrestaurant in North Dakota earn under $36,910 and half over. The published range runs $31,140 at the tenth percentile to $46,320 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $31,837, worked from $36,910. 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 423 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,945 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 423.
- Figures are distribution medians for food servers, nonrestaurant in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,140 to $46,320; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The North Dakota take-home of $31,837, on $36,910 for work ranking 423 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 423 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,945, worked from $36,910, 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 423 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 $38,080 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,140 at the tenth percentile, $46,320 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 $35,945 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Dakota then takes its own share, leaving $31,837.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $38,080. 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 ($31,140 to $46,320) 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 $35,945 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 $31,837 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.