Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,330
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,150
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,534
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
$47,480
Kept after tax
$40,330
Worth in national money
$45,534
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 23 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $47,480. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 342 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,480 you keep $40,330, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,534 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $47,420, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota ranks 23 of 51 for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive at $47,480. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 342 of 460 in North Dakota places secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive 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 secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive on $47,480 is $40,330. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,534 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 $47,420 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,780 |
| This salary | $47,480 |
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 | $40,330 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,330 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,031 |
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 | $47,480 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,875 |
| 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 secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in North Dakota earn under $47,480 and half over. The published range runs $34,920 at the tenth percentile to $60,780 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $40,330, worked from $47,480. 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 342 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 $45,534, the adjusted value of that $47,480 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 342 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,920 to $60,780; 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.
- The North Dakota take-home of $40,330, on $47,480 for work ranking 342 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 342 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $45,534 — the adjusted value of that $47,480 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 342 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,920 at the tenth percentile, $60,780 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 $45,534 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, $40,330 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,920 to $60,780) 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 $45,534 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 $40,330 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.