Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$80,939
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$21,561
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$91,877
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
$102,500
Kept after tax
$80,939
Worth in national money
$91,877
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Dakota pays this job a middle wage of $102,500, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 3.24% above the national middle.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 34 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $102,500 the take-home is $80,939; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $91,877 would nationally. The average comes to $105,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota's median for architects, except landscape and naval is $102,500, about 3.24% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, architects, except landscape and naval sits 34 of 457 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for architects, except landscape and naval in South Dakota, on $102,500, is $80,939 — equivalent to $91,877 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $105,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $162,160 |
| This salary | $102,500 |
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 | $80,939 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,939 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$8,585 |
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 | $102,500 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$11,858 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Dakota earn less than $102,500. The published range is $61,350 up to $162,160, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $80,939, worked from $102,500. 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 34 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 $91,877, the adjusted value of that $102,500 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 34 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for architects, except landscape and naval in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,350 to $162,160. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Dakota take-home of $80,939, on $102,500 for work ranking 34 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 34 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $91,877 — the adjusted value of that $102,500 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 34 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $61,350 at the bottom tenth to $162,160 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $91,877 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $80,939 of this wage reaches your account, because South Dakota takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,350) and the ninetieth ($162,160) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $91,877 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 $80,939 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.