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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $153,753 — what the $135,570 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $142,287 to $164,674.

How are North Dakota Pharmacist 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.

How many Pharmacists does North Dakota employ?

BLS OES counts 980 Pharmacists employed in North Dakota in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

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 Pharmacists?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $135,570 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $153,753. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Pharmacists comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Pharmacist 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.

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.

How Much Do Pharmacists Make in North Dakota? $136K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Pharmacists in North Dakota earn a BLS median of $135,570, with real take-home of $153,753 after BEA RPP adjustment.
P25-P75 spread runs $125,460 to $145,200; P10 floor $37,340, P90 ceiling $160,750.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $18,183 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Pharmacist ranking: #32 on the BLS table, #6 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — North Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$37,340	$42,348
P25 (lower quartile)	$125,460	$142,287
P50 (median)	$135,570	$153,753
P75 (upper quartile)	$145,200	$164,674
P90 (top tier)	$160,750	$182,310
Mean	$125,790	$142,661
Employment	980 Pharmacists 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 (Pharmacist)	$135,570	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$21,355	15.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,417	0–2.5% (graduated, 2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,371	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$102,427	75.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$116,165	÷ (88.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the North Dakota state-tax burden means for Pharmacist 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 $116,165.

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 $137,480 for Pharmacists with mean pay of $137,210 and total employment of 328,870. North Dakota sits at #32 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Dakota climbs 26 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Pharmacist salary in North Dakota?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $153,753 — what the $135,570 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $142,287 to $164,674.
How are North Dakota Pharmacist 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.
How many Pharmacists does North Dakota employ?: BLS OES counts 980 Pharmacists employed in North Dakota in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
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 Pharmacists?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $135,570 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $153,753. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Pharmacists comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Pharmacist 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.
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.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1051, 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 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how North Dakota Pharmacist 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.