Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,743
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,207
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,032
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
$57,950
Kept after tax
$48,743
Worth in national money
$55,032
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Dakota. The middle earner gets $57,950. That is 43 of 51 states, and about 11.01% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 258 among 460 occupations North Dakota publishes pay for.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $57,950 the take-home is $48,743; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,032 would nationally. The average lands at $57,450, below the middle of the range.
- For special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, North Dakota sits in the lower band at $57,950, ranking 43 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.01%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 258 of 460 in North Dakota places special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school 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.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in North Dakota, on $57,950, is $48,743 — equivalent to $55,032 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $57,450 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,150 |
| This salary | $57,950 |
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 | $48,743 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,743 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,872 |
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 | $57,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,892 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $57,950 as a midpoint for North Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,060 and the ninetieth is $77,150 — 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 $48,743, worked from $57,950. 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 258 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $55,032 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 258.
- The North Dakota median of $57,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,060 to $77,150. 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 $48,743, on $57,950 for work ranking 258 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 258 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $55,032, worked from $57,950, 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 258 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,060 and the top tenth $77,150, so most people doing this work in North Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $55,032 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 $48,743.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,060 to $77,150) 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 $55,032 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 $48,743 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.