Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,414
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,926
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,500
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
$46,340
Kept after tax
$39,414
Worth in national money
$44,500
State rank
38
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $46,340, ranking 38 of 49 states — about 7.1% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 353 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,340 you keep $39,414, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,500 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,350, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 38 of 49 for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, with a median of $46,340 — about 7.1% 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.
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners occupies position 353 of 460 in North Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners on $46,340 is $39,414. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,500 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 $52,350 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,570 |
| This salary | $46,340 |
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 | $39,414 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,414 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,940 |
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 | $46,340 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,765 |
| 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 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in North Dakota earn under $46,340 and half over. The published range runs $42,410 at the tenth percentile to $78,570 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $39,414, from $46,340, 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 353 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 $44,500, the adjusted value of that $46,340 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 353 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $42,410 to $78,570; 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 $39,414 from $46,340. 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 353 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $44,500 — the adjusted value of that $46,340 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 353 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 $52,350 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $42,410 and the top tenth $78,570 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $44,500.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and North Dakota adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,414 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $52,350. 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 ($42,410) and the ninetieth ($78,570) 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 $44,500 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 $39,414 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.