Sheet Metal Workers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$54,540
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$10,640
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,577
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
$65,180
Kept after tax
$54,540
Worth in national money
$61,577
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 17 of 50 states for sheet metal workers, with a middle wage of $65,180. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in North Dakota, this sits in the middle: 178 of 460 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $65,180 you keep $54,540, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $61,577 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $66,540, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 17 of 50 for sheet metal workers at $65,180. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Sheet metal workers ranks 178 of 460 occupations in North Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for sheet metal workers on $65,180 is $54,540. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $61,577 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 $66,540 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,740 |
| This salary | $65,180 |
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 | $54,540 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,552 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,439 |
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 | $65,165 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,326 |
| 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 $65,180. The published range is $48,080 up to $84,740, 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 $54,540, worked from $65,180. 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 178 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 $61,577, the adjusted value of that $65,180 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 178 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for sheet metal workers in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,080 to $84,740. 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 $54,540, on $65,180 for work ranking 178 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 178 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $61,577 — the adjusted value of that $65,180 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 178 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,080 at the tenth percentile, $84,740 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 $61,577 in national terms.
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 $54,540 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 ($48,080 to $84,740) 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 $61,577 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 $54,540 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.