Paralegals and Legal Assistants in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,932
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,498
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,374
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
$59,430
Kept after tax
$49,932
Worth in national money
$56,374
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $59,430, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in North Dakota, this sits in the middle: 244 of 460 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,430 you keep $49,932, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,374 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,880, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for paralegals and legal assistants: a median of $59,430, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Paralegals and legal assistants ranks 244 of 460 occupations in North Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for paralegals and legal assistants on $59,430 is $49,932. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,374 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 $58,880 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,430 |
| This salary | $59,430 |
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 | $49,932 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,932 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,991 |
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 | $59,430 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,036 |
| 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 $59,430. The published range is $45,300 up to $78,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $49,932, from $59,430, 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 244 of 460 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $56,374, the adjusted value of that $59,430 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 244 of 460 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for paralegals and legal assistants in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,300 to $78,430. 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 $49,932 from $59,430. 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 244 of 460 locally.
- This $56,374 adjusted figure, worked from $59,430, 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 244 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 244 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,300 at the bottom tenth to $78,430 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $56,374 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, $49,932 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,300 to $78,430) 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 $56,374 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 $49,932 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.