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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $88,756 — what the $78,260 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $76,542 to $97,591.

What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in North Dakota?

The 90th percentile lands at $99,540. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $86,050.

How many RNs does North Dakota employ?

BLS OES counts 11,000 RNs 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.

How wide is the wage spread in North Dakota?

P10 to P90 spans $65,770 to $99,540. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $78,260 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $88,756. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for RNs comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these RN 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.

North Dakota Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $78K Median, Real $89K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline RN pay in North Dakota is $78,260. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $88,756.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $10,496 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Bottom quartile $67,490, top quartile $86,050. The P90 ($99,540) is roughly 1.5× the P10 ($65,770).
North Dakota is an NLC compact state — RNs holding a multistate license can practice across compact states without re-applying.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #34 of 51; nominal rank is #45.

Wage breakdown — North Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$65,770	$74,591
P25 (lower quartile)	$67,490	$76,542
P50 (median)	$78,260	$88,756
P75 (upper quartile)	$86,050	$97,591
P90 (top tier)	$99,540	$112,890
Mean	$81,900	$92,885
Employment	11,000 RNs 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 (RN)	$78,260	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$8,464	10.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$300	0–2.5% (graduated, 2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,987	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$63,509	81.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$72,027	÷ (88.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

North Dakota's state tax is light at this income tier (~0.4% 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 $72,027.

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 $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. North Dakota sits at #45 on nominal pay and #34 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Dakota climbs 11 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — North Dakota (NLC)

North Dakota participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2017. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in North Dakota without applying for a separate North Dakota license. North Dakota-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

North Dakota has been a Compact participant for 9 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in North Dakota?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.2 for North Dakota), the real-wage equivalent is $88,756 — what the $78,260 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $76,542 to $97,591.
What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in North Dakota?: The 90th percentile lands at $99,540. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $86,050.
How many RNs does North Dakota employ?: BLS OES counts 11,000 RNs 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.
How wide is the wage spread in North Dakota?: P10 to P90 spans $65,770 to $99,540. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is North Dakota a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for RNs?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $78,260 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $88,756. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for RNs comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these RN 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 29-1141, 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 RN 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.