Clergy in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,278
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,582
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,072
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
$59,860
Kept after tax
$50,278
Worth in national money
$57,072
State rank
25
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for clergy. The median is $59,860, ranking 25 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Clergy ranks 187 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,860 the take-home is $50,278; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $57,072 would nationally. The average comes to $60,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for clergy: a median of $59,860, ranking 25 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 187 of 457 in South Dakota places clergy in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for clergy in South Dakota, on $59,860, is $50,278 — equivalent to $57,072 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 $60,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,500 |
| This salary | $59,860 |
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 | $50,278 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,278 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,333 |
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 | $59,860 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,449 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $59,860 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,890 and the ninetieth is $75,500 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $50,278, worked from $59,860. 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 187 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,072 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 187.
- The South Dakota median of $59,860 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,890 to $75,500. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Dakota take-home of $50,278, on $59,860 for work ranking 187 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 187 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,072, worked from $59,860, 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 187 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,890 at the tenth percentile, $75,500 at the ninetieth.
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 $57,072 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $50,278 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.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,890 to $75,500) 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 $57,072 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 $50,278 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.