Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,040
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$13,450
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,916
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
$74,490
Kept after tax
$61,040
Worth in national money
$68,916
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 this job a middle wage of $74,490, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 22.09% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 141.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,490 you keep $61,040, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $68,916 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $70,010, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota's median for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers is $74,490, about 22.09% 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.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers sits at 141 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 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on $74,490 is $61,040. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $68,916 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 $70,010 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,060 |
| This salary | $74,490 |
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 | $61,040 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,234 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,902 |
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 | $74,215 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,153 |
| 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 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers in North Dakota earn under $74,490 and half over. The published range runs $46,610 at the tenth percentile to $94,060 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $61,040 take-home in North Dakota comes from $74,490. 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 141 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,916 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 141.
- Figures are distribution medians for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,610 to $94,060; 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.
- Retained pay of $61,040, from $74,490, 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 141 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,916, worked from $74,490, 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 141 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 $70,010, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,610 at the bottom tenth to $94,060 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. North Dakota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $68,916 in national terms.
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 $61,040.
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 $70,010. 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 ($46,610 to $94,060) 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 $68,916 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 $61,040 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.