Medical Transcriptionists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,064
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,596
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,976
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
$44,660
Kept after tax
$38,064
Worth in national money
$42,976
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. North Dakota pays medical transcriptionists a middle wage of $44,660, ranking 15 of 50 states and sitting about 10.52% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 376 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,660 you keep $38,064 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,976 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $40,920.
- North Dakota's median for medical transcriptionists is $44,660, about 10.52% above the national figure and 15 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Medical transcriptionists occupies position 376 of 460 in North Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $38,064 after the full tax stack, from $44,660. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,976 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,920 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Medical Transcriptionists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,260 |
| This salary | $44,660 |
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 | $38,064 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,064 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,805 |
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 | $44,660 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,601 |
| 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 $44,660. The published range is $26,280 up to $50,260, 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 $38,064, worked from $44,660. 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 376 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,976 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 376.
- Reported values are medians; for medical transcriptionists in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $26,280 to $50,260. 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 $38,064, on $44,660 for work ranking 376 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 376 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,976, worked from $44,660, 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 376 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 $40,920, 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 — $26,280 at the tenth percentile, $50,260 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 $42,976 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and North Dakota's own levy, $38,064 remains.
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 $40,920. 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 ($26,280 to $50,260) 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 $42,976 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 $38,064 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.