Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,872
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,728
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,436
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
$60,600
Kept after tax
$50,872
Worth in national money
$57,436
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for payroll and timekeeping clerks. The middle earner takes $60,600, which ranks 15 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 4.02% above the national middle.
- Against other work in North Dakota, this sits in the middle: 227 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 $60,600 you keep $50,872, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,436 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $61,350, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 15 of 51 states publishing a median for payroll and timekeeping clerks, at $60,600 — about 4.02% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Payroll and timekeeping clerks ranks 227 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 payroll and timekeeping clerks on $60,600 is $50,872. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,436 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 $61,350 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,530 |
| This salary | $60,600 |
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 | $50,872 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,872 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,085 |
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 | $60,600 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,185 |
| 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 payroll and timekeeping clerks in North Dakota earn under $60,600 and half over. The published range runs $46,880 at the tenth percentile to $77,530 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $50,872, from $60,600, 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 227 of 460 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,436 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 227.
- Figures are distribution medians for payroll and timekeeping clerks in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,880 to $77,530; 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.
- Take-home for North Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,872 from $60,600. 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 227 of 460 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,436, worked from $60,600, 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 227 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,880 at the bottom tenth to $77,530 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 $57,436.
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 $50,872.
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 ($46,880 to $77,530) 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 $57,436 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 $50,872 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.