Atmospheric and Space Scientists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,336
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$14,564
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,030
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
$78,900
Kept after tax
$64,336
Worth in national money
$73,030
State rank
40
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for atmospheric and space scientists. The middle earner takes $78,900, ranking 40 of 47 states — about 20.36% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 457 occupations South Dakota reports, atmospheric and space scientists comes in at 86 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $78,900 the take-home is $64,336; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $73,030 would nationally. The average comes to $89,140, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota ranks 40 of 47 for atmospheric and space scientists, with a median of $78,900 — about 20.36% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Atmospheric and space scientists ranks 86 of 457 occupations by median in South Dakota, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for atmospheric and space scientists in South Dakota, on $78,900, is $64,336 — equivalent to $73,030 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 $89,140 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,960 |
| This salary | $78,900 |
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 | $64,336 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,336 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,824 |
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 | $78,900 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,426 |
| 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 atmospheric and space scientists in South Dakota earn under $78,900 and half over. The published range runs $63,350 at the tenth percentile to $129,960 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $64,336 take-home in South Dakota comes from $78,900. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 86 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 $73,030, the adjusted value of that $78,900 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 86 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for atmospheric and space scientists in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,350 to $129,960; 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.
- Retained pay of $64,336, from $78,900, assumes a single South Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 86 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $73,030 — the adjusted value of that $78,900 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 86 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $89,140 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $63,350 at the bottom tenth to $129,960 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Dakota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $73,030 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $64,336 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?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in South Dakota is $89,140. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,350) and the ninetieth ($129,960) 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 $73,030 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 $64,336 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.