Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,663
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,497
14.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,752
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
$44,160
Kept after tax
$37,663
Worth in national money
$42,752
State rank
44
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,160, ranking 44 of 46 states — about 41.11% 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: 344 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,160 you keep $37,663 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,752 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $50,620, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota ranks 44 of 46 for camera operators, television, video, and film, with a median of $44,160 — about 41.11% 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.
- Camera operators, television, video, and film occupies position 344 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $37,663 after the full tax stack, from $44,160. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,752 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $50,620 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,180 |
| This salary | $44,160 |
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 | $37,663 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,663 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,995 |
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 | $44,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,831 |
| 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 camera operators, television, video, and film in South Dakota earn under $44,160 and half over. The published range runs $28,880 at the tenth percentile to $77,180 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $37,663, from $44,160, 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 344 of 457 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,752 uses one figure for the whole of South Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 457 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 344.
- Figures are distribution medians for camera operators, television, video, and film in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,880 to $77,180; 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 $37,663 from $44,160. 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 344 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,752, worked from $44,160, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Dakota address, on work sitting at 344 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $50,620, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $28,880 and the top tenth $77,180 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $42,752 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $37,663 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 46 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 $50,620. 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 ($28,880) and the ninetieth ($77,180) 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 $42,752 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 $37,663 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.