Optometrists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$100,246
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$31,864
24.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$113,181
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
$132,110
Kept after tax
$100,246
Worth in national money
$113,181
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 32 of 51 states for optometrists, with a middle wage of $132,110. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, optometrists ranks 13 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $132,110 the take-home is $100,246; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $113,181 would nationally. The average lands at $132,080, below the middle of the range.
- North Dakota ranks 32 of 51 for optometrists at $132,110. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, optometrists sits 13 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 optometrists in North Dakota, on $132,110, is $100,246 — equivalent to $113,181 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 $132,080 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $74,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $132,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $178,900 |
| This salary | $132,110 |
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 | $100,246 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,563 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$8,665 |
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 | $130,183 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$12,319 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $132,110 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $74,610 and the ninetieth is $178,900 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $100,246 take-home in North Dakota comes from $132,110. 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 13 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $113,181 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 13.
- The North Dakota median of $132,110 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $74,610 to $178,900. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $100,246, from $132,110, 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 13 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $113,181, worked from $132,110, 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 13 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $74,610 and the top tenth $178,900 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $113,181.
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, $100,246 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($74,610) and the ninetieth ($178,900) 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 $113,181 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 $100,246 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.