Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,879
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,241
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,485
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
$58,120
Kept after tax
$48,879
Worth in national money
$55,485
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $58,120, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 5.91% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 198.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,120 you keep $48,879, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $55,485 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota ranks 43 of 51 for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, with a median of $58,120 — about 5.91% 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.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists sits at 198 of 457 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists on $58,120 is $48,879. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $55,485 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 $59,480 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,810 |
| This salary | $58,120 |
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 | $48,879 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,879 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,184 |
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 | $58,120 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,270 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,120 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $45,500 and the ninetieth is $78,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $48,879, from $58,120, 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 198 of 457 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $55,485, the adjusted value of that $58,120 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 198 of 457 locally.
- The South Dakota median of $58,120 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $45,500 to $78,810. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,879 from $58,120. 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 198 of 457 locally.
- This $55,485 adjusted figure, worked from $58,120, 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 198 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 198 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,500 and the top tenth $78,810, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $55,485.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $48,879 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,500 to $78,810) 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 $55,485 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 $48,879 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.