Tile and Stone Setters in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,425
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,195
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,125
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
$42,620
Kept after tax
$36,425
Worth in national money
$41,125
State rank
45
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota is among the lower-paying states for tile and stone setters. The middle earner takes $42,620, ranking 45 of 47 states — about 23.47% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 384 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,620 you keep $36,425 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $41,125 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $51,190, since top earners drag the number up.
- North Dakota ranks 45 of 47 for tile and stone setters, with a median of $42,620 — about 23.47% 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.
- Tile and stone setters occupies position 384 of 460 in North Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in North Dakota is $36,425 after the full tax stack, from $42,620. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $41,125 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $51,190 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Tile and Stone Setters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,630 |
| This salary | $42,620 |
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 | $36,425 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,425 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,641 |
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 | $42,620 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,403 |
| 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 $42,620. The published range is $36,910 up to $77,630, 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 $36,425, worked from $42,620. 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 384 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,125 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 384.
- Reported values are medians; for tile and stone setters in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,910 to $77,630. 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 $36,425, on $42,620 for work ranking 384 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 384 of 460 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,125, worked from $42,620, 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 384 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 $51,190, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,910 and the top tenth $77,630 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $41,125.
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 $36,425.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $51,190. 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 ($36,910) and the ninetieth ($77,630) 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 $41,125 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 $36,425 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.