Baggage Porters and Bellhops in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,248
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$3,242
11.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,525
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
$27,490
Kept after tax
$24,248
Worth in national money
$27,525
State rank
42
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for baggage porters and bellhops. The middle earner takes $27,490, ranking 42 of 48 states — about 25.86% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 457 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $27,490 the take-home is $24,248; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $27,525 would nationally. The average comes to $29,140, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota ranks 42 of 48 for baggage porters and bellhops, with a median of $27,490 — about 25.86% 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.
- Baggage porters and bellhops occupies position 457 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.
- Post-tax income for baggage porters and bellhops in South Dakota, on $27,490, is $24,248 — equivalent to $27,525 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 $29,140 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Baggage Porters and Bellhops
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,440 |
| This salary | $27,490 |
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 | $24,248 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,248 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,572 |
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 | $27,490 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,085 |
| 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 baggage porters and bellhops in South Dakota earn under $27,490 and half over. The published range runs $26,520 at the tenth percentile to $37,440 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $24,248 take-home in South Dakota comes from $27,490. 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 457 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 $27,525, the adjusted value of that $27,490 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 457 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for baggage porters and bellhops in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,520 to $37,440; 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 $24,248, from $27,490, 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 457 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 42 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $27,525 — the adjusted value of that $27,490 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 457 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $29,140, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $26,520 at the bottom tenth to $37,440 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 $27,525 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $24,248 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 $29,140. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,520 to $37,440) 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 $27,525 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 $24,248 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.