Mechatronics technician salary in North Dakota (2026)

How much does a mechatronics technician make in North Dakota?

The spread here is wide and it sits high. The bottom 10% of North Dakota mechatronics technicians earn about $62,570, which is more than the 25th percentile earns in most other states. The middle 50% runs from $73,350 up to $100,190, so a typical technician with a few years in is landing somewhere in the mid-$70s to low-$100s. That $73,350 first-quartile figure is basically the US median. In other words, a below-average North Dakota tech earns what an average tech earns nationally.

The top decile crosses into six figures comfortably at $137,020. Those are the technicians running instrumentation and controls on Bakken oil and gas sites, or the senior maintenance people keeping automated production lines running. That location quotient of 2.09 is the real story: 90 jobs is a small headcount, but they cluster tightly around energy and heavy-equipment manufacturing, and employers pay up to keep the people who can do the work.

North Dakota mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed

The three sources disagree hard on North Dakota, and it matters which one you trust. BLS says $82,820. Salary.com models an average of $57,994. Indeed reports about $28.95 an hour, which annualizes to roughly $60,216, but that figure rests on just 12 reported salaries, so treat it as a loose signal, not a firm number. BLS pulls directly from employer payroll surveys, which is why it captures the high energy-sector pay that a national HR model like Salary.com smooths away.

The gap between BLS and the other two is unusually large because North Dakota's small headcount is skewed toward well-paid oil-and-gas and manufacturing roles. Salary.com and Indeed lean on broader, more generic assumptions that miss that concentration. When you sit down to negotiate, anchor on the BLS median of $82,820 and its percentile range. That is the number backed by actual North Dakota payrolls, not a model or a thin sample.

Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in North Dakota

North Dakota projects this occupation to grow 8.9% between 2024 and 2034, which towers over the national outlook of 0.7%. That is a real gap, though remember it is growth off a small base: 90 jobs growing by roughly a tenth is not a flood of new positions. The state expects about 10 openings a year, and most of those come from turnover and retirements rather than brand-new roles, since the total headcount is so lean.

Practically, that means openings exist but they are not constant. When one lands, you want to already hold the certifications and be ready to move. You can track current projections and postings through North Dakota Labor Market Information.

How North Dakota compares with nearby states

Inside the Midwest, North Dakota is the pay leader for this occupation. Its $82,820 median edges out Illinois at $79,400 and Wisconsin at $76,290, both of which employ far more technicians (250 and 580 respectively) but pay less per head. So North Dakota is the rare case where the smallest job market also pays the most, driven by that energy-sector premium rather than by volume.

Who hires mechatronics technicians in North Dakota

The biggest name is Doosan Bobcat, which builds compact construction and equipment at its plant in Gwinner and runs its North America headquarters in West Fargo, with manufacturing operations in Bismarck too. Roles there run from maintenance and manufacturing technicians to quality and controls work, exactly the automation-heavy skill set mechatronics training builds.

Beyond heavy equipment, the Bakken oil and gas fields drive steady demand for instrumentation and automation technicians who commission and maintain control systems at energy facilities. That energy concentration is a big part of why North Dakota's location quotient sits at 2.09 and why the pay runs so high.

How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in North Dakota

Stack the certifications energy employers pay for

North Dakota's top pay lives in instrumentation and controls. Adding a PLC credential and an instrumentation or controls cert can move you from the $73,350 first quartile toward the $100,190 top-quartile mark. See our certifications guide for the stack that matters most to energy and manufacturing employers here.

Chase the energy-sector premium, not just any job

The gap between the median ($82,820) and the 90th percentile ($137,020) in North Dakota is enormous, and it tracks the shift from general plant maintenance to Bakken instrumentation and controls work. If you can get into oil and gas automation, that is where the six-figure North Dakota pay actually is.

Step up to the engineer or controls track

If you want to break past even the technician top decile, the controls-engineer path is the ceiling-lifter. It trades some hands-on work for design and programming responsibility and pay to match. Our controls engineer guide and mechatronics salary guide lay out the jump.

Sources & methodology

Figures on this page come from four independent datasets, retrieved 2026-07-14. Where they disagree, the disagreement is shown rather than averaged away; the source-comparison section explains why each number differs.

• BLS OEWS, SOC 17-3024, May 2025 national and state estimates (state file oesm25st.zip). Employer-reported, the authoritative baseline.
• Salary.com, Mechatronics Technician in North Dakota, as of July 1, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
• Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in North Dakota, based on 12 reported salaries. Posting-derived.
• Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by North Dakota's labor market agency (state source).
• Bobcat of Gwinner Careers