Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,809
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,311
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,043
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
$38,120
Kept after tax
$32,809
Worth in national money
$37,043
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 29 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $38,120. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within North Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 410. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,120 the take-home is $32,809; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,043 would nationally. The average comes to $40,370, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Dakota ranks 29 of 50 for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service at $38,120. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation North Dakota reports, mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service ranks 410 of 460, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in North Dakota, on $38,120, is $32,809 — equivalent to $37,043 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 $40,370 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,860 |
| This salary | $38,120 |
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 | $32,809 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,809 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,279 |
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 | $38,120 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,966 |
| 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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in North Dakota earn under $38,120 and half over. The published range runs $35,300 at the tenth percentile to $46,860 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $32,809, worked from $38,120. 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 410 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 $37,043, the adjusted value of that $38,120 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 410 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,300 to $46,860; 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.
- The North Dakota take-home of $32,809, on $38,120 for work ranking 410 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 410 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $37,043 — the adjusted value of that $38,120 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 410 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,370, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,300 at the tenth percentile, $46,860 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,043 in national terms.
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 $32,809 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $40,370. 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 ($35,300 to $46,860) 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 $37,043 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 $32,809 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.