Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,768
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,702
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,318
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
$60,470
Kept after tax
$50,768
Worth in national money
$57,318
State rank
26
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. North Dakota pays this job around $60,470 at the midpoint, 26 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 460 occupations North Dakota reports figures for, this is number 229.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,470 you keep $50,768, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,318 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $62,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators the North Dakota median is $60,470, ranking 26 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In North Dakota's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 229 of 460 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators on $60,470 is $50,768. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,318 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 $62,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,940 |
| This salary | $60,470 |
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 | $50,768 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,768 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,074 |
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 | $60,470 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,152 |
| 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 water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in North Dakota earn under $60,470 and half over. The published range runs $47,250 at the tenth percentile to $78,940 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 $50,768, worked from $60,470. 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 229 of 460.
- Two cautions on $57,318, the adjusted value of that $60,470 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 229 of 460 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in North Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,250 to $78,940; 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 $50,768, on $60,470 for work ranking 229 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 229 of 460 in the state.
- This $57,318 adjusted figure, worked from $60,470, 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 229 of 460 in the state. The occupation ranks 229 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,250 at the tenth percentile, $78,940 at the ninetieth.
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 $57,318.
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 $50,768 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,250 to $78,940) 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 $57,318 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 $50,768 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.