Opticians, Dispensing in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,522
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,708
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,493
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
$45,230
Kept after tax
$38,522
Worth in national money
$43,493
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Dakota pays opticians, dispensing around $45,230 at the midpoint, 30 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 460 occupations North Dakota publishes, opticians, dispensing lands at 367. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,230 you keep $38,522, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,493 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $45,640, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For opticians, dispensing the North Dakota median is $45,230, ranking 30 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within North Dakota, this work ranks 367 of 460 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for opticians, dispensing on $45,230 is $38,522. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,493 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $45,640 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,100 |
| This salary | $45,230 |
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 | $38,522 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,522 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,850 |
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 | $45,230 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,657 |
| 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 opticians, dispensing in North Dakota earn under $45,230 and half over. The published range runs $37,220 at the tenth percentile to $56,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,522 take-home in North Dakota comes from $45,230. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 367 of 460.
- Two cautions on $43,493, the adjusted value of that $45,230 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 367 of 460 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for opticians, dispensing in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,220 to $56,100; 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.
- Retained pay of $38,522, from $45,230, assumes a single North Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 367 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 51 for it.
- This $43,493 adjusted figure, worked from $45,230, 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 367 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 367 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,220 at the bottom tenth to $56,100 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $43,493.
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 $38,522.
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 ($37,220 to $56,100) 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 $43,493 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 $38,522 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.