Data Desk · North Dakota

North Dakota paychecks fell 4.0% behind prices over the past year, the third-widest gap of any state

By The Liberty Tribune Data Desk · October 29, 2026

A caution on this figure: state pay figures swing widely from month to month. For North Dakota, the same measure was minus 0.7% in August and plus 0.4% in July. Comparing average pay over the latest 11 months with data against the same months a year earlier, pay ran 0.5% ahead of prices. October 2025 is left out because BLS has no price figure for it.

Average hourly earnings for private-sector workers in North Dakota were $35.45 in September 2026, compared with $35.43 a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay rose 0.1% over the 12 months, while consumer prices in the Midwest rose 4.2%.

After inflation, an hour of work in North Dakota buys 4.0% less than it did a year ago, the third-widest gap between pay and prices of any state.

To have kept pace with Midwest prices, the average hourly wage would have needed to reach $36.93, which is $1.48 an hour more than it is. Over a 40-hour week, that is $59.26.

Nationwide, average hourly earnings rose 2.9% to $37.69 while prices rose 3.7%. Pay trailed regional prices in 38 of 50 states.

Elsewhere in the West North Central division, pay after inflation: Missouri +1.6%, Kansas minus 0.1%, South Dakota minus 0.8%, Iowa minus 2.1%, Nebraska minus 3.8%, Minnesota minus 4.1%.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay: Current Employment Statistics (State and Area), average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, not seasonally adjusted, series SMU38000000500000003; CEU0500000003 for the nation. Prices: Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items, not seasonally adjusted, Midwest region series CUUR0200SA0; CUUR0000SA0 for the nation. Both compared with the same month a year earlier; pay after inflation is (1 + pay growth) / (1 + price growth) - 1. BLS publishes no statewide price index, so each state is measured against its Census region. State figures are preliminary. Ranks exclude the District of Columbia. Computed by The Liberty Tribune from the published series.

Data retrieved from the BLS public API on October 30, 2026. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.

Free to cite or republish with attribution and a link. The chart is ours and may be reused on the same terms.

More from September 2026

• Paychecks trailed prices in 38 of 50 states over the past year
• Wisconsin paychecks fell 4.1% behind prices over the past year, the widest gap of any state
• Minnesota paychecks fell 4.1% behind prices over the past year, the second-widest gap of any state
• Hawaii paychecks beat prices by 5.5% over the past year, the most of any state
• New Mexico paychecks beat prices by 2.9% over the past year, the second-most of any state
• Texas paychecks beat prices by 2.3% over the past year, the third-most of any state
• Government payrolls shrank in 33 of 50 states over the past year
• Michigan government payrolls grew 2.4% in a year, outpacing private employers by the widest margin of any state