Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,022
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$3,408
12.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,251
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
$28,430
Kept after tax
$25,022
Worth in national money
$28,251
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Dakota. The middle earner gets $28,430. That is 39 of 51 states, and about 15.34% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 460 occupations North Dakota publishes, this job lands at 458. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,430 you keep $25,022, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,251 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $28,090, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, North Dakota sits in the lower band at $28,430, ranking 39 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 15.34%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within North Dakota, this work ranks 458 of 460 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers on $28,430 is $25,022. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,251 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 $28,090 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $33,930 |
| This salary | $28,430 |
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 | $25,022 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,022 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,501 |
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 | $28,430 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,023 |
| 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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in North Dakota earn under $28,430 and half over. The published range runs $22,880 at the tenth percentile to $33,930 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $25,022 take-home in North Dakota comes from $28,430. 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 458 of 460.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,251, the adjusted value of that $28,430 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 458 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $22,880 to $33,930; 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 $25,022, from $28,430, 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 458 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $28,251 — the adjusted value of that $28,430 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 458 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $22,880 at the bottom tenth to $33,930 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $28,251 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 $25,022 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,880 to $33,930) 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 $28,251 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 $25,022 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.