Postal Service Clerks in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,638
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,182
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,914
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
$57,820
Kept after tax
$48,638
Worth in national money
$54,914
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is among the lower-paying states for postal service clerks. The middle earner takes $57,820, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 6.94% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Postal service clerks ranks 261 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,820 you keep $48,638 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $54,914 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $55,880.
- North Dakota ranks 51 of 51 for postal service clerks, with a median of $57,820 — about 6.94% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 261 of 460 in North Dakota places postal service clerks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $48,638 after the full tax stack, from $57,820. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,914 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $55,880 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Postal Service Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,030 |
| This salary | $57,820 |
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 | $48,638 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,638 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,862 |
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 | $57,820 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,880 |
| 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 postal service clerks in North Dakota earn under $57,820 and half over. The published range runs $36,360 at the tenth percentile to $74,030 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $48,638 take-home in North Dakota comes from $57,820. 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 261 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,914 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 261.
- Figures are distribution medians for postal service clerks in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,360 to $74,030; 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 $48,638, from $57,820, 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 261 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,914, worked from $57,820, 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 261 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $55,880 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,360 at the bottom tenth to $74,030 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $54,914 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $48,638.
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.
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 $55,880. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,360 to $74,030) 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 $54,914 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 $48,638 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.