Surgical Technologists in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,708
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,932
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,379
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
$61,640
Kept after tax
$51,708
Worth in national money
$58,379
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for surgical technologists. The median is $61,640, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in North Dakota, this sits in the middle: 210 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 $61,640 you keep $51,708, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $58,379 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $60,860, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for surgical technologists: a median of $61,640, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Surgical technologists ranks 210 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 surgical technologists on $61,640 is $51,708. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $58,379 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 $60,860 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,120 |
| This salary | $61,640 |
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 | $51,708 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,708 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,168 |
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 | $61,640 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,448 |
| 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 surgical technologists in North Dakota earn under $61,640 and half over. The published range runs $50,440 at the tenth percentile to $72,120 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 $51,708, worked from $61,640. 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 210 of 460.
- Two cautions on $58,379, the adjusted value of that $61,640 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 210 of 460 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for surgical technologists in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $50,440 to $72,120; 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 $51,708, on $61,640 for work ranking 210 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 210 of 460 in the state.
- This $58,379 adjusted figure, worked from $61,640, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 210 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 210 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $50,440 at the tenth percentile, $72,120 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 $58,379 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, $51,708 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,440 to $72,120) 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 $58,379 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 $51,708 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.