Operations Research Analysts in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,492
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$15,968
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,071
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
$82,460
Kept after tax
$66,492
Worth in national money
$75,071
State rank
31
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for operations research analysts. The median is $82,460, ranking 31 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, operations research analysts ranks 89 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $82,460 the take-home is $66,492; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $75,071 would nationally. The average comes to $89,080, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for operations research analysts: a median of $82,460, ranking 31 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, operations research analysts sits 89 of 460 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for operations research analysts in North Dakota, on $82,460, is $66,492 — equivalent to $75,071 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 $89,080 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $82,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,400 |
| This salary | $82,460 |
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 | $66,492 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,841 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,287 |
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 | $81,964 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,685 |
| 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 $82,460. The published range is $57,930 up to $119,400, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $66,492, from $82,460, 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 89 of 460 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,071, the adjusted value of that $82,460 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 89 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for operations research analysts in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $57,930 to $119,400. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $66,492 from $82,460. 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 89 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $75,071 — the adjusted value of that $82,460 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 89 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 $89,080, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $57,930 and the top tenth $119,400 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $75,071 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 $66,492 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 47 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 $89,080. 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 ($57,930) and the ninetieth ($119,400) 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 $75,071 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 $66,492 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.