Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,177
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,803
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,781
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
$60,980
Kept after tax
$51,177
Worth in national money
$57,781
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 19 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $60,980. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 219 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,980 you keep $51,177 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $57,781 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $62,610, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Dakota ranks 19 of 51 for mental health and substance abuse social workers at $60,980. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 219 of 460 in North Dakota places mental health and substance abuse social workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $51,177 after the full tax stack, from $60,980. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,781 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $62,610 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,840 |
| This salary | $60,980 |
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 | $51,177 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,177 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,115 |
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 | $60,980 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,281 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,980 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,050 and the ninetieth is $75,840 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $51,177, worked from $60,980. 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 219 of 460.
- Two cautions on $57,781, the adjusted value of that $60,980 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 219 of 460 locally.
- The North Dakota median of $60,980 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,050 to $75,840. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Dakota take-home of $51,177, on $60,980 for work ranking 219 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 219 of 460 in the state.
- This $57,781 adjusted figure, worked from $60,980, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 219 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 219 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,050 at the tenth percentile, $75,840 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 $57,781 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Dakota then takes its own share, leaving $51,177.
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 ($44,050 to $75,840) 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 $57,781 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 $51,177 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.