Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,593
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$16,477
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,314
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
$84,070
Kept after tax
$67,593
Worth in national money
$76,314
State rank
33
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 33 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $84,070. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in North Dakota. It ranks 82 out of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $84,070 you keep $67,593, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $76,314 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $92,300, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 33 of 50 for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers at $84,070. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within North Dakota, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 82 of 460 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on $84,070 is $67,593. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $76,314 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 $92,300 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,080 |
| This salary | $84,070 |
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 | $67,593 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,973 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,365 |
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 | $83,530 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,792 |
| 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 $84,070. The published range is $62,300 up to $132,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $67,593 take-home in North Dakota comes from $84,070. 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 82 of 460.
- Two cautions on $76,314, the adjusted value of that $84,070 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 82 of 460 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,300 to $132,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $67,593, from $84,070, 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 82 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 50 for it.
- This $76,314 adjusted figure, worked from $84,070, 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 82 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 82 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $92,300, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $62,300, the highest tenth $132,080, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $76,314 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $67,593 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 $92,300. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($62,300) and the ninetieth ($132,080) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $76,314 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 $67,593 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.