Customer Support Specialist salary in Grand Forks, ND-MN

Pay in Grand Forks against North Dakota and the US

The middle half of customer support specialists in Grand Forks earns $37,540–$51,670. The top tenth earns $69,140 or more, 2.2 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.0 times. The mean ($46,820) is 10% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $14,130 wide, against $15,480 across North Dakota and $14,910 nationally: employers in Grand Forks pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a customer support specialist here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $9,110 over the median, the 25th only $5,020 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $11,755 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $44,770 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Grand Forks, and the North Dakota statewide median of $44,670 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Grand Forks

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $12,356 to the $42,560 median and brings it to $54,916 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

Our open customer support specialist roles pay $700–$1,000 a month under a direct contract. The one-time fee is $2,500³ with a 180-day replacement; paying through Deel adds $49 a month⁴. Change any number below to match your plan.

A local hire here costs about 4.1 times as much as a remote hire in year one at the midpoint of our range. From year two, when the fee drops out, it is 5.1 times the remote figure of $10,788. About the candidates: most apply through our assessment platform with a written and a spoken English task; each profile shows the English level (B1–C2); Silkstaff interviews every shortlisted candidate live, in English, before you meet them.

Other roles in Grand Forks

Of the 14 roles we track in Grand Forks, this one ranks #13 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($43,930) and virtual receptionists ($39,020). Project Coordinator is the highest at $90,140.

Measured against the US median, customer support specialists rank #8 of the 14 roles we track in Grand Forks (-4.9%), between recruiters (-3.5%) and accountants (-10.7%). The typical role here is at -4.2%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Customer support specialists hold 15.1% of the jobs in these 14 roles in Grand Forks, 17.1% across North Dakota and 16.7% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in North Dakota

Across the 6 areas of North Dakota with data for this job, the median runs from $40,900 in Fargo to $50,420 in the East North Dakota nonmetro area, a gap of $9,520 a year. Of the 3 areas in North Dakota with more customer support specialists than Grand Forks, 1 pays less: Fargo, ND-MN ($40,900).

Grand Forks against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Grand Forks is #452 of 520 US areas for this job. The market is small, and its pay sits near the middle of the US range. Outside North Dakota, State College and Harrisburg-Carlisle pay just above Grand Forks and Bangor and York-Hanover just below. All four are within $140 a year of the median in Grand Forks. Of the three markets with about as many customer support specialists, none pays as much.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.