Database Architects in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$104,591
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$31,949
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$118,725
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
$136,540
Kept after tax
$104,591
Worth in national money
$118,725
State rank
19
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Dakota is 19 of 46 states for database architects, with a middle wage of $136,540. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in South Dakota. It ranks 13 out of 457 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $136,540 the take-home is $104,591; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $118,725 would nationally. The average lands at $124,430, below the middle of the range.
- South Dakota ranks 19 of 46 for database architects at $136,540. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within South Dakota, database architects ranks 13 of 457 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for database architects in South Dakota, on $136,540, is $104,591 — equivalent to $118,725 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 $124,430 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Database Architects
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $95,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $142,980 |
| This salary | $136,540 |
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 | $104,591 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,591 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$11,094 |
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 | $136,540 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$15,772 |
| 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 database architects in South Dakota earn under $136,540 and half over. The published range runs $95,060 at the tenth percentile to $142,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $104,591, from $136,540, 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 13 of 457 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $118,725, the adjusted value of that $136,540 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 13 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for database architects in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $95,060 to $142,980; 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 $104,591 from $136,540. 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 13 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $118,725 — the adjusted value of that $136,540 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 13 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 $124,430, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $95,060 at the bottom tenth to $142,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $118,725 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $104,591 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. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $124,430. 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 ($95,060 to $142,980) 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 $118,725 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 $104,591 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.