Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,996
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,824
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,028
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
$45,820
Kept after tax
$38,996
Worth in national money
$44,028
State rank
17
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $45,820, ranking 17 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in North Dakota, this one sits low: 364 of 460 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- North Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,820 the take-home is $38,996; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,028 would nationally. The average lands at $44,660, below the middle of the range.
- North Dakota occupies the middle band for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing: a median of $45,820, ranking 17 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing occupies position 364 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.
- Post-tax income for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in North Dakota, on $45,820, is $38,996 — equivalent to $44,028 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 $44,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,790 |
| This salary | $45,820 |
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 | $38,996 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,996 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,898 |
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 | $45,820 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,714 |
| 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 $45,820. The published range is $40,470 up to $48,790, 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 $38,996, worked from $45,820. 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 364 of 460.
- One number stands for prices across all of North Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,028, the adjusted value of that $45,820 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 364 of 460 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,470 to $48,790. 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 $38,996, on $45,820 for work ranking 364 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 364 of 460 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for North Dakota, so $44,028 — the adjusted value of that $45,820 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 364 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,470 at the bottom tenth to $48,790 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $44,028.
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, $38,996 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,470 to $48,790) 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 $44,028 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 $38,996 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.