Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,651
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,739
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,638
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
$45,390
Kept after tax
$38,651
Worth in national money
$43,638
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 25 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $45,390. 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 366. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $45,390 you keep $38,651 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,638 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $46,220, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Dakota ranks 25 of 51 for medical secretaries and administrative assistants at $45,390. 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, medical secretaries and administrative assistants ranks 366 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.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $38,651 after the full tax stack, from $45,390. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,638 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $46,220 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,140 |
| This salary | $45,390 |
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 | $38,651 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,651 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,863 |
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 | $45,390 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,672 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,390 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,440 and the ninetieth is $58,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $38,651, from $45,390, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 366 of 460 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,638 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 366.
- The North Dakota median of $45,390 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,440 to $58,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,651 from $45,390. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 366 of 460 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,638, worked from $45,390, 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 366 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,440 at the tenth percentile, $58,140 at the ninetieth.
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 $43,638 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 $38,651 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,440 to $58,140) 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 $43,638 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 $38,651 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.