Healthcare Social Workers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,688
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$10,172
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,486
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
$62,860
Kept after tax
$52,688
Worth in national money
$59,486
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for healthcare social workers is on the low side in North Dakota. The middle earner gets $62,860. That is 35 of 51 states, and about 7.4% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 198.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,860 you keep $52,688, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $59,486 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $65,300, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For healthcare social workers, North Dakota sits in the lower band at $62,860, ranking 35 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 7.4%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, healthcare social workers sits at 198 of 460 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for healthcare social workers on $62,860 is $52,688. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $59,486 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 $65,300 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Healthcare Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,040 |
| This salary | $62,860 |
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 | $52,688 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,688 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,266 |
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 | $62,860 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,757 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $62,860 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $51,260 and the ninetieth is $78,040 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $52,688, from $62,860, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 198 of 460 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $59,486, the adjusted value of that $62,860 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 198 of 460 in the state.
- The North Dakota median of $62,860 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $51,260 to $78,040. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $52,688 from $62,860. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 198 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $59,486 — the adjusted value of that $62,860 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 198 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 $65,300 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,260 at the tenth percentile, $78,040 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 $59,486 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, $52,688 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 $65,300. 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 ($51,260 to $78,040) 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 $59,486 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 $52,688 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.