Biological Scientists, All Other in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,833
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$13,087
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,054
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
$73,920
Kept after tax
$60,833
Worth in national money
$69,054
State rank
48
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for biological scientists, all other is on the low side in South Dakota. The middle earner gets $73,920. That is 48 of 50 states, and about 25.27% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 457 occupations South Dakota reports, biological scientists, all other comes in at 109 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $73,920 you keep $60,833, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $69,054 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $75,890, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For biological scientists, all other, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $73,920, ranking 48 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 25.27%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Biological scientists, all other ranks 109 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for biological scientists, all other on $73,920 is $60,833. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $69,054 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 $75,890 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,420 |
| This salary | $73,920 |
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 | $60,833 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,833 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,452 |
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 | $73,920 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,913 |
| 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 biological scientists, all other in South Dakota earn under $73,920 and half over. The published range runs $49,940 at the tenth percentile to $100,420 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 $60,833, worked from $73,920. 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 109 of 457.
- Two cautions on $69,054, the adjusted value of that $73,920 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 109 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological scientists, all other in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,940 to $100,420; 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 $60,833, on $73,920 for work ranking 109 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 109 of 457 in the state.
- This $69,054 adjusted figure, worked from $73,920, 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 109 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 109 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $49,940 at the bottom tenth to $100,420 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $69,054.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $60,833 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?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 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 ($49,940 to $100,420) 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 $69,054 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 $60,833 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.