Animal Trainers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,809
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,311
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,243
South Dakota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in South Dakota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$38,120
Kept after tax
$32,809
Worth in national money
$37,243
State rank
25
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Dakota is 25 of 47 states for animal trainers, with a middle wage of $38,120. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within South Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 457 occupations the state publishes figures for, animal trainers ranks 396. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,120 you keep $32,809 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $37,243 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $38,100.
- South Dakota ranks 25 of 47 for animal trainers at $38,120. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation South Dakota reports, animal trainers ranks 396 of 457, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $32,809 after the full tax stack, from $38,120. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,243 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,100 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Animal Trainers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,780 |
| This salary | $38,120 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in South Dakota | $32,809 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,809 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,480 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $38,120 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,209 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of animal trainers in South Dakota earn under $38,120 and half over. The published range runs $30,530 at the tenth percentile to $44,780 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $32,809, worked from $38,120. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 396 of 457.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,243, the adjusted value of that $38,120 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 396 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for animal trainers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,530 to $44,780; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The South Dakota take-home of $32,809, on $38,120 for work ranking 396 of 457 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 396 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $37,243 — the adjusted value of that $38,120 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 396 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,530 and the top tenth $44,780, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $37,243.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $32,809 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,530 to $44,780) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to South Dakota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
South Dakota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,243 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
South Dakota levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $32,809 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.