Crane and Tower Operators in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,779
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$12,222
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,722
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
$71,000
Kept after tax
$58,779
Worth in national money
$66,722
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for crane and tower operators. The median is $71,000, ranking 22 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Crane and tower operators ranks 122 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $71,000 you keep $58,779, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,722 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $70,560, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for crane and tower operators: a median of $71,000, ranking 22 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 122 of 457 in South Dakota places crane and tower operators 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for crane and tower operators on $71,000 is $58,779. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,722 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 $70,560 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Crane and Tower Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $93,600 |
| This salary | $71,000 |
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 | $58,779 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $58,779 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,234 |
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 | $71,000 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,612 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $71,000 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $58,370 and the ninetieth is $93,600 — 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 $58,779, worked from $71,000. 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 122 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 $66,722, the adjusted value of that $71,000 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 122 of 457 in the state.
- The South Dakota median of $71,000 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $58,370 to $93,600. 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 $58,779, on $71,000 for work ranking 122 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 122 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $66,722 — the adjusted value of that $71,000 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 122 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $58,370 at the tenth percentile, $93,600 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 $66,722 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $58,779 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 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 ($58,370 to $93,600) 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 $66,722 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 $58,779 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.