Surveyors in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,371
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$14,989
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,677
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
$79,360
Kept after tax
$64,371
Worth in national money
$72,677
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is one of the better-paying states for surveyors. The middle earner takes $79,360, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.2% above the national middle.
- Within North Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 460 occupations with published figures in the state, surveyors ranks 107 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $79,360 you keep $64,371, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $72,677 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $89,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for surveyors, at $79,360 — about 5.2% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation North Dakota publishes a median for, surveyors sits 107 of 460 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for surveyors on $79,360 is $64,371. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $72,677 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 $89,210 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Surveyors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,780 |
| This salary | $79,360 |
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 | $64,371 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,660 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,137 |
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 | $78,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,478 |
| 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 surveyors in North Dakota earn under $79,360 and half over. The published range runs $52,680 at the tenth percentile to $127,780 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In North Dakota the take-home figure of $64,371, from $79,360, 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 107 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 $72,677, the adjusted value of that $79,360 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 107 of 460 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for surveyors in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,680 to $127,780; 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 $64,371 from $79,360. 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 107 of 460 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $72,677 — the adjusted value of that $79,360 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 107 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $89,210, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $52,680 at the bottom tenth to $127,780 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $72,677 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 $64,371 of this wage survives to your account.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $89,210. 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 ($52,680) and the ninetieth ($127,780) 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 $72,677 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 $64,371 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.