Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,146
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$4,904
13.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,355
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
$36,050
Kept after tax
$31,146
Worth in national money
$35,355
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $36,050, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 414 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,050 you keep $31,146, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,355 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,440, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for automotive and watercraft service attendants: a median of $36,050, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Automotive and watercraft service attendants occupies position 414 of 457 in South Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for automotive and watercraft service attendants on $36,050 is $31,146. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,355 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $36,440 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,240 |
| This salary | $36,050 |
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 | $31,146 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,146 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,304 |
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 | $36,050 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,995 |
| 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 automotive and watercraft service attendants in South Dakota earn under $36,050 and half over. The published range runs $29,370 at the tenth percentile to $45,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $31,146, from $36,050, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 414 of 457 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $35,355, the adjusted value of that $36,050 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 414 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for automotive and watercraft service attendants in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,370 to $45,240; 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.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,146 from $36,050. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 414 of 457 locally.
- This $35,355 adjusted figure, worked from $36,050, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 414 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 414 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,370 at the bottom tenth to $45,240 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,355 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $31,146 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,370 to $45,240) 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 $35,355 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 $31,146 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.