South Dakota ranks #44 of 51 for median salary in 2026.
Median Salary by State
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Eight state-specific guides. Each one is a full long-form page — not a calculator with a querystring. Tap any card to open the South Dakota edition.
Take-home pay, state + federal tax, FICA, full bracket breakdown.
Complete salary, payroll tax, and compensation playbook for this state.
Find what percentile your income falls in vs other residents.
Marginal rates, bracket cutoffs, deductions for 2026 tax year.
State income, sales, property, and excise tax — all in one place.
Rates, affordability, closing costs, property tax for buying here.
LLC formation, registration fees, taxes — full launch checklist.
How crypto is taxed at the state level + reporting cheat sheet.
Source: BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Updated 2025-04-01. Click any state for the full breakdown.
South Dakota salary is $45,620 as of May 2024, according to BLS OEWS. That puts South Dakota at rank #44 of 50 US states, below the national average of $50,576.497.
Among South Dakota's neighbors, North Dakota shows $50,320, Minnesota shows $53,810, Iowa shows $47,670. Use the CalcFi compare view to line all of them up: /maps/compare?cat=salary&states=sd,nd,mn,ia. Nearby states share labor markets and housing corridors, so the comparison is usually the most relevant one.
Top South Dakota metros include Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Aberdeen. City-level salary data drops in Q3 2026 once BLS releases its metro-area tables for the year. Pierre is the state capital. Until then, the state-level number is the best available read.
A $45,620 salary in South Dakota tracks the state median reported by BLS OEWS. "Good" depends on your metro, occupation, and household size. Use the CalcFi paycheck calculator for take-home and the cost-of-living comparison to see how far that salary stretches in your city.
2 cities ranked by median salary by state. Higher is better.
Note: City-level wage data lands in Phase 2 (BLS OEWS metro). Until then, household income from Census ACS — real city number, different denominator than state map.
Median annual wages for all occupations, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. State-level values are OEWS "A_MEDIAN" for cross-industry all-occupations.