Curators in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,585
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$13,405
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,908
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
$74,990
Kept after tax
$61,585
Worth in national money
$69,908
State rank
9
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Dakota pays curators a middle wage of $74,990, ranking 9 of 49 states and sitting about 18.24% above the national middle.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, curators ranks 106 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,990 you keep $61,585, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $69,908 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $74,800, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Dakota's median for curators is $74,990, about 18.24% above the national figure and 9 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, curators sits 106 of 457 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for curators on $74,990 is $61,585. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $69,908 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 $74,800 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Curators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,490 |
| This salary | $74,990 |
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 | $61,585 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,585 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,532 |
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 | $74,990 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,023 |
| 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 curators in South Dakota earn under $74,990 and half over. The published range runs $49,740 at the tenth percentile to $98,490 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 $61,585, worked from $74,990. 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 106 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 $69,908, the adjusted value of that $74,990 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 106 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for curators in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,740 to $98,490; 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 $61,585, on $74,990 for work ranking 106 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 106 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $69,908 — the adjusted value of that $74,990 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 106 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,740 and the top tenth $98,490, 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 $69,908.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $61,585 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($49,740 to $98,490) 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 $69,908 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 $61,585 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.