Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,490
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$16,430
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,198
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
$83,920
Kept after tax
$67,490
Worth in national money
$76,198
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $83,920, ranking 38 of 46 states — about 19.54% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 460 occupations North Dakota reports, this job comes in at 83 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $83,920 you keep $67,490 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $76,198 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $83,460.
- North Dakota ranks 38 of 46 for software quality assurance analysts and testers, with a median of $83,920 — about 19.54% 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.
- Software quality assurance analysts and testers ranks 83 of 460 occupations by median in North Dakota, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $67,490 after the full tax stack, from $83,920. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $76,198 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $83,460 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $106,000 |
| This salary | $83,920 |
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 | $67,490 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,868 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,358 |
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 | $83,384 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,782 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $83,920 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $63,060 and the ninetieth is $106,000 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind North Dakota's $67,490, worked from $83,920. 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 83 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,198 uses one figure for the whole of North Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 460 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 83.
- The North Dakota median of $83,920 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $63,060 to $106,000. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The North Dakota take-home of $67,490, on $83,920 for work ranking 83 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 83 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,198, worked from $83,920, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular North Dakota address, on work sitting at 83 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $63,060 at the tenth percentile, $106,000 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $76,198 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $67,490 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($63,060 to $106,000) 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 $76,198 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 $67,490 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.