Recreational Therapists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,080
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,290
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,413
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
$58,370
Kept after tax
$49,080
Worth in national money
$55,413
State rank
26
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for recreational therapists. The median is $58,370, ranking 26 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 254.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,370 you keep $49,080, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $55,413 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $56,980, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for recreational therapists: a median of $58,370, ranking 26 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, recreational therapists sits at 254 of 460 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for recreational therapists on $58,370 is $49,080. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $55,413 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 $56,980 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,570 |
| This salary | $58,370 |
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 | $49,080 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,080 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,906 |
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 | $58,370 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,933 |
| 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 $58,370. The published range is $40,100 up to $70,570, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $49,080, worked from $58,370. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 254 of 460.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $55,413, the adjusted value of that $58,370 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 254 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for recreational therapists in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,100 to $70,570. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The North Dakota take-home of $49,080, on $58,370 for work ranking 254 of 460 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 254 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $55,413 — the adjusted value of that $58,370 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 254 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,100 at the tenth percentile, $70,570 at the ninetieth.
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 $55,413 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 $49,080.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,100 to $70,570) 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 $55,413 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 $49,080 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.