Light Truck Drivers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,708
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,242
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,960
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
$47,950
Kept after tax
$40,708
Worth in national money
$45,960
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for light truck drivers. The middle earner takes $47,950, which ranks 8 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 6.89% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 338.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,950 the take-home is $40,708; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,960 would nationally. The average comes to $51,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Dakota ranks 8 of 51 states publishing a median for light truck drivers, at $47,950 — about 6.89% 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.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, light truck drivers sits at 338 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.
- Post-tax income for light truck drivers in North Dakota, on $47,950, is $40,708 — equivalent to $45,960 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $51,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $92,440 |
| This salary | $47,950 |
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 | $40,708 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,708 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,069 |
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 | $47,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,921 |
| 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 $47,950. The published range is $33,750 up to $92,440, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $40,708 take-home in North Dakota comes from $47,950. 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 338 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 $45,960, the adjusted value of that $47,950 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 338 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for light truck drivers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,750 to $92,440. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $40,708, from $47,950, 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 338 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $45,960 — the adjusted value of that $47,950 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 338 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 $51,940 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $33,750, the highest tenth $92,440, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $45,960.
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 $40,708 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.
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 $51,940. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,750) and the ninetieth ($92,440) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $45,960 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 $40,708 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.