Average salary in South Dakota: $57,610 a year
The mean annual wage across every job BLS counts in South Dakota, with the median, the pay spread, the job groups and the occupations behind it.
The average salary in South Dakota is $57,610 a year ($27.70 an hour): that is the mean annual wage across 457,380 jobs in the BLS May 2025 survey. The median is $47,080 ($22.63 an hour), so half of those jobs paid less and half paid more. The mean sits above the median because a smaller number of very high wages pulls it up.
How South Dakota compares with the United States
South Dakota's mean salary is $12,160 (17.4%) below the U.S. figure of $69,770; its median is $3,900 (7.7%) below the U.S. figure of $50,980. Among the 50 states and DC, South Dakota ranks 45th by mean salary and 43rd by median salary (1 = highest; calculated from the BLS figures).
| Measure | South Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Mean (average) salary | $57,610 | $69,770 |
| Median salary | $47,080 | $50,980 |
| Mean hourly wage | $27.70 | $33.54 |
| Median hourly wage | $22.63 | $24.51 |
| Jobs counted | 457,380 | 155,495,730 |
Prices matter as much as pay. BEA's regional price parity for South Dakota in 2024 is 88.6, where the United States = 100: overall prices there were about 11.4% below the national price level. A salary goes further where the index is lower.
What jobs in South Dakota pay, from low to high
One job in ten in South Dakota paid less than $29,300 a year, and one in ten paid more than $94,900. A quarter paid less than $36,030; a quarter paid more than $64,020.
| Area | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | $29,300 | $36,030 | $47,080 | $64,020 | $94,900 |
| United States | $31,200 | $37,590 | $50,980 | $80,520 | $128,560 |
Pay by job group in South Dakota
The largest group in South Dakota is office and administrative support, with 52,830 jobs (12% of the total, calculated). The best-paid group by median is management ($110,270); the lowest-paid is food preparation and serving related ($30,060). Where BLS does not release a figure, the table says so.
| Job group | Jobs | Median salary | Mean (average) salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support | 52,830 | $44,010 | $44,890 |
| Sales and Related | 46,500 | $37,050 | $52,940 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 45,220 | $30,060 | $32,610 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 39,670 | $40,190 | $44,700 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 35,450 | $77,740 | $95,670 |
| Production | 31,240 | $46,220 | $48,830 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 26,300 | $48,850 | $49,360 |
| Construction and Extraction | 26,200 | $50,120 | $54,930 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 25,560 | $77,730 | $85,600 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 20,090 | $58,890 | $60,920 |
| Management | 17,580 | $110,270 | $127,870 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 17,030 | $35,170 | $37,150 |
| Healthcare Support | 16,390 | $39,190 | $41,190 |
| Personal Care and Service | 11,920 | $34,830 | $36,950 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 9,670 | $81,420 | $92,550 |
| Community and Social Service | 8,150 | $51,220 | $54,120 |
| Protective Service | 7,540 | $52,140 | $54,740 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 6,560 | $82,040 | $86,530 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 4,880 | $46,040 | $50,270 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 4,700 | $65,570 | $70,990 |
| Legal | 2,210 | $88,400 | $106,800 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 1,680 | $43,630 | $44,500 |
The occupations with the most jobs in South Dakota
10 of the 12 largest occupations in South Dakota with a published annual median paid a median below the all-jobs median of $47,080 (calculated from the BLS figures).
| Occupation | Jobs | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 15,150 | $29,490 |
| Registered Nurses | 14,710 | $78,060 |
| Retail Salespersons | 14,180 | $34,370 |
| Cashiers | 12,860 | $29,780 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 11,460 | $37,650 |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 10,200 | $46,340 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 8,630 | $35,480 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 7,350 | $28,990 |
| Nursing Assistants | 6,860 | $38,800 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 6,470 | $58,690 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 6,120 | $40,650 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 6,120 | $41,700 |
Go deeper
The best-paid occupations, ranked.
Open →Pay floorSouth Dakota minimum wageThe state's hourly floor.
Open →PricesCost of living in South DakotaWhat a salary buys there.
Open →Between jobsSouth Dakota unemployment benefitsThe weekly maximum and weeks payable.
Open →Take-homeSouth Dakota paycheck calculatorPay after taxes, per paycheck.
Open →CalculatorSalary to hourly calculatorConvert any salary or hourly rate.
Open →NegotiateSalary negotiationAsk for the top of the range.
Open →All statesAverage salary by stateEvery state on one page.
Open →Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Everything on this page is free to use without buying anything.
Questions people ask
What is the average salary in South Dakota?
What is the median salary in South Dakota?
What is a good salary in South Dakota?
Does the average salary include self-employed people?
How this page is built
Every pay figure is a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 estimate for all occupations in South Dakota (occupation code 00-0000), copied from BLS's data file; the job-group and occupation rows come from the same file. The average is BLS's mean wage (total wages divided by jobs); the median is the wage in the middle. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include commissions, tips, production bonuses and cost-of-living allowances, and leave out overtime premiums, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. BLS turns hourly wages into annual ones at 2,080 hours (40 hours for 52 weeks). Ranks, differences and shares are TryHired calculations from the BLS figures. Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities.
- Household income: this page reports pay per job, not household or family income, which the Census Bureau measures differently.
- Starting pay: the figures include experienced workers. Entry-level pay is usually lower.
- Take-home pay: every figure is before taxes and deductions.
- Self-employment and farm work: not covered by OEWS (see the FAQ).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates: national, state and metropolitan-area data files (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes: what the survey counts as wages and jobs.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released Feb 19, 2026).