ND median income rises

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s unprecedented oil bonanza has boosted the state’s median household income to record levels.
 
     But state demographer Kevin Iverson says the male-dominated energy industry also is widening the wage gap between men and women.
 
     U.S. Census data show the median earnings of North Dakota men who worked full-time, year-round climbed to $49,231 in 2013. That’s about $3,000 more than in 2012.
 
     The median earnings for North Dakota women increased only about $100 during that time to $34,549.
 
     Data show North Dakota’s median household income rose to $55,759 last year, up from $54,647 in 2012.
 
     Iverson says workers in North Dakota’s oil and natural gas industry earned an average salary of more than $111,000 last year.