Data Entry Keyers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,756
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$4,564
13.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,777
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
$34,320
Kept after tax
$29,756
Worth in national money
$33,777
State rank
48
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for data entry keyers. The middle earner takes $34,320, ranking 48 of 49 states — about 16.98% 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: 426 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,320 you keep $29,756, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,777 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $35,590, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota ranks 48 of 49 for data entry keyers, with a median of $34,320 — about 16.98% 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.
- Data entry keyers occupies position 426 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for data entry keyers on $34,320 is $29,756. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,777 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 $35,590 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Data Entry Keyers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,630 |
| This salary | $34,320 |
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 | $29,756 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,756 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,156 |
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 | $34,320 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,817 |
| 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 data entry keyers in South Dakota earn under $34,320 and half over. The published range runs $31,300 at the tenth percentile to $39,630 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $29,756, from $34,320, 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 426 of 457 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $33,777, the adjusted value of that $34,320 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 426 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for data entry keyers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,300 to $39,630; 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 $29,756 from $34,320. 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 426 of 457 locally.
- This $33,777 adjusted figure, worked from $34,320, 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 426 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 426 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 $35,590, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,300 and the top tenth $39,630, 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 $33,777.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $29,756 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 49 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 $35,590. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,300 to $39,630) 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 $33,777 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 $29,756 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.