Graphic Designers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,554
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,916
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,689
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
$56,470
Kept after tax
$47,554
Worth in national money
$53,689
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. North Dakota pays graphic designers a middle wage of $56,470, 38 of 51 states and about 10.31% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 273 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $56,470 you keep $47,554 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,689 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $56,160.
- North Dakota's $56,470 median for graphic designers places it 38 of 51 states, about 10.31% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 273 of 460 in North Dakota places graphic designers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $47,554 after the full tax stack, from $56,470. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,689 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $56,160 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,700 |
| This salary | $56,470 |
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 | $47,554 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,554 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,753 |
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 | $56,470 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,748 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $56,470 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,610 and the ninetieth is $75,700 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $47,554, worked from $56,470. 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 273 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,689 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 273.
- The North Dakota median of $56,470 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,610 to $75,700. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Dakota take-home of $47,554, on $56,470 for work ranking 273 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 273 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,689, worked from $56,470, 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 273 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,610 and the top tenth $75,700, so most people doing this work in North Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $53,689 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 $47,554.
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 ($37,610 to $75,700) 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 $53,689 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 $47,554 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.