Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,121
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,789
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,717
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
$60,910
Kept after tax
$51,121
Worth in national money
$57,717
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $60,910, which ranks 11 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 3.87% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 221 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,910 you keep $51,121, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,717 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 11 of 51 states publishing a median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, at $60,910 — about 3.87% 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.
- Position 221 of 460 in North Dakota places heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers on $60,910 is $51,121. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,717 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 $63,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,330 |
| This salary | $60,910 |
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 | $51,121 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,121 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,110 |
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 | $60,910 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,264 |
| 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 $60,910. The published range is $47,990 up to $83,330, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $51,121, worked from $60,910. 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 221 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,717 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 221.
- Reported values are medians; for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,990 to $83,330. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Dakota take-home of $51,121, on $60,910 for work ranking 221 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 221 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,717, worked from $60,910, 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 221 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 $63,330, 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 $47,990 at the bottom tenth to $83,330 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 $57,717 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 $51,121.
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 $63,330. 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 ($47,990 to $83,330) 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 $57,717 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 $51,121 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.