What is the real (cost-adjusted) Dentist salary in North Dakota?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $228,276 — what the $201,280 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $152,982 to —.

How are North Dakota Dentist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for North Dakota different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. North Dakota's overall index of 88.2 reflects rents 69.3, services 75.0, and goods 97.0.

Is North Dakota a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Dentists?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $201,280 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $228,276. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Dentists comparing offers across regions.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for North Dakota?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within North Dakota.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Does the BLS dentist median capture practice-owner income in North Dakota?

Partially. BLS OEWS reports W-2 earnings, which captures dentist-owners who pay themselves a salary through the practice but excludes pass-through profit distributions (Schedule K-1 from S-corp or partnership), which can be the larger income component for established practice owners. In North Dakota, this typically means the BLS-reported median understates total earnings for solo or small-group practice owners by 20-50% once distributions are netted in. Associate dentists employed by DSOs or owner-dentists are accurately represented by the BLS figure.

How Much Do Dentists Make in North Dakota? $201K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Headline Dentist pay in North Dakota is $201,280. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $228,276.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $26,996 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Quartile range $134,890 (bottom 25%) to — (top 25%). BLS suppresses the P10 or P90 tail for this state, typically because the top tier exceeds the OES wage cap.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #2 of 51; nominal rank is #8.

Wage breakdown — North Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$132,600	$150,384
P25 (lower quartile)	$134,890	$152,982
P50 (median)	$201,280	$228,276
P75 (upper quartile)
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$224,300	$254,383
Employment	210 Dentists in North Dakota

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	North Dakota index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.2
Goods	97.0
Services	75.0
Rents	69.3

North Dakota sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.2), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 69.3.

After-tax take-home — North Dakota (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Dentist)	$201,280	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$37,125	18.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,698	0–2.5% (graduated, 2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$14,313	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$147,143	73.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$166,878	÷ (88.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the North Dakota state-tax burden means for Dentist take-home

North Dakota's state tax is light at this income tier (~1.3% effective). The bigger compensation lever is the below-baseline cost of living (RPP 88.2), which lifts real take-home above nominal after-tax — net real after-tax $166,878.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $172,790 for Dentists with mean pay of $196,100 and total employment of 113,490. North Dakota sits at #8 on nominal pay and #2 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Dakota climbs 6 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Dentist salary in North Dakota?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $228,276 — what the $201,280 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $152,982 to —.
How are North Dakota Dentist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for North Dakota different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. North Dakota's overall index of 88.2 reflects rents 69.3, services 75.0, and goods 97.0.
Is North Dakota a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Dentists?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $201,280 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $228,276. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Dentists comparing offers across regions.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for North Dakota?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within North Dakota.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Does the BLS dentist median capture practice-owner income in North Dakota?: Partially. BLS OEWS reports W-2 earnings, which captures dentist-owners who pay themselves a salary through the practice but excludes pass-through profit distributions (Schedule K-1 from S-corp or partnership), which can be the larger income component for established practice owners. In North Dakota, this typically means the BLS-reported median understates total earnings for solo or small-group practice owners by 20-50% once distributions are netted in. Associate dentists employed by DSOs or owner-dentists are accurately represented by the BLS figure.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1021, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how North Dakota Dentist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.