Public Relations Specialists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,161
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$12,119
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,665
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
$70,280
Kept after tax
$58,161
Worth in national money
$65,665
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 18 of 51 states for public relations specialists, with a middle wage of $70,280. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Public relations specialists ranks 158 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $70,280 you keep $58,161, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,665 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $73,940, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 18 of 51 for public relations specialists at $70,280. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 158 of 460 in North Dakota places public relations specialists 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for public relations specialists on $70,280 is $58,161. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,665 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 $73,940 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Public Relations Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $70,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,710 |
| This salary | $70,280 |
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 | $58,161 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $58,272 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,699 |
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 | $70,122 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,872 |
| 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 $70,280. The published range is $47,980 up to $100,710, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $58,161, from $70,280, 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 158 of 460 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $65,665, the adjusted value of that $70,280 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 158 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for public relations specialists in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,980 to $100,710. 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 $58,161 from $70,280. 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 158 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $65,665 — the adjusted value of that $70,280 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 158 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 $73,940 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,980 at the bottom tenth to $100,710 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $65,665 in national terms.
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 $58,161.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $73,940. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,980) and the ninetieth ($100,710) 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 $65,665 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 $58,161 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.