- The middle half earn between $18.18 and $24.74 an hour.
- North Dakota is 41st of the 48 states with published figures, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- North Dakota pays less than both neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 70 locksmiths on payrolls in North Dakota.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $107.99 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in North Dakota, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.12 | $37,700 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $18.18 | $37,810 | $20.75 |
| Median | $21.30 | $44,310 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $24.74 | $51,460 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $32.21 | $67,010 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $22.82 | $47,470 | $26.67 |
Pay is bunched up in North Dakota. The top tenth earn $32.21 an hour or more, about 1.8 times the $18.12 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($18.12 against $17.08) but the ceiling is lower ($32.21 against $38.17), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average wage, $22.82, sits 7% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical locksmith makes.
How North Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year, the North Dakota median of $44,310 is $7,010 less than the national $51,320.
In the state ranking, North Dakota sits 41st, between Arizona ($21.37) and Texas ($21.09). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Every one of the neighboring states pays locksmiths more than North Dakota. The closest is Montana at $27.02, and the biggest gap is with Minnesota.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
How many locksmiths work in North Dakota
About 70 locksmiths work on payrolls in North Dakota, 0.5% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 42nd largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in North Dakota, 1.6 times the national share.
What a locksmith business in North Dakota should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a locksmith business in North Dakota paying the state median of $21.30, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $21.30 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $47,693 |
| Break-even rate | ($47,693 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $91.80 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $91.80 ÷ 0.85 | $107.99 |
That is $107.99 per billable hour, 5.1 times the wage, and $5.94 less than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $24.74 in North Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $114.04.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.18, the rate only drops to $102.52.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in North Dakota
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9094, locksmiths and safe repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: locksmith salary by state.