Marketing Manager · North Dakota · SOC 11-2021
North Dakota Marketing Manager Salary — 2026 BLS + BEA RPP
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- North Dakota pays Marketing Managers a BLS median of $123,460 — the more useful number is $140,019, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
- P25-P75 spread runs $101,220 to $149,990; P10 floor $82,760, P90 ceiling $192,880.
- Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $16,559 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
- Nominal: #37/51 · Real: #33/51 — ranking shifts by 4 positions after RPP.
Wage breakdown — North Dakota
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $82,760 | $93,860 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $101,220 | $114,796 |
| P50 (median) | $123,460 | $140,019 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $149,990 | $170,107 |
| P90 (top tier) | $192,880 | $218,749 |
| Mean | $132,020 | $149,727 |
| Employment | 240 Marketing Managers 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 (Marketing Manager) | $123,460 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$18,448 | 14.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$1,181 | 0–2.5% (graduated, 2026) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$9,445 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $94,386 | 76.5% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $107,045 | ÷ (88.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the North Dakota state-tax burden means for Marketing Manager take-home
North Dakota's state tax is light at this income tier (~1.0% 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 $107,045.
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 $161,030 for Marketing Managers with mean pay of $171,520 and total employment of 384,980. North Dakota sits at #37 on nominal pay and #33 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Dakota climbs 4 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Marketing Manager make in North Dakota?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $123,460 for Marketing Managers in North Dakota as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $101,220 and the 75th-percentile is $149,990.
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Marketing Manager salary in North Dakota?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $140,019 — what the $123,460 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $114,796 to $170,107.
- How are North Dakota Marketing Manager 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.
- Where does North Dakota rank for Marketing Manager pay?
- On nominal BLS wages alone, North Dakota ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
- What are the limits of these Marketing Manager salary numbers?
- BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
- 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 an MBA add to marketing manager pay in North Dakota?
- MBA-credentialed marketing managers in North Dakota typically start 15-25% above non-MBA peers and reach VP-marketing 2-4 years sooner on the median path. The $80-200K MBA tuition + 2-year earnings gap takes 5-10 years to break even — better at top-15 programs with strong CPG/tech recruiting pipelines, weaker at regional MBAs. For demand-gen and growth-marketing tracks, demonstrated revenue impact and analytics chops often beat MBA pedigree on pay outcomes.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 11-2021, 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.
Cross-comparison: see how North Dakota Marketing Manager 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.