Dental Laboratory Technicians in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,045
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,325
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,592
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
$48,370
Kept after tax
$41,045
Worth in national money
$46,592
State rank
24
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Dakota is 24 of 46 states for this job, with a middle wage of $48,370. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 278.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,370 the take-home is $41,045; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,592 would nationally. The average comes to $52,040, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota ranks 24 of 46 for dental laboratory technicians at $48,370. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, dental laboratory technicians sits at 278 of 457 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for dental laboratory technicians in South Dakota, on $48,370, is $41,045 — equivalent to $46,592 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 $52,040 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Laboratory Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,990 |
| This salary | $48,370 |
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 | $41,045 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,045 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,354 |
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 | $48,370 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,265 |
| 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 dental laboratory technicians in South Dakota earn under $48,370 and half over. The published range runs $39,420 at the tenth percentile to $65,990 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 $41,045, worked from $48,370. 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 278 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 $46,592, the adjusted value of that $48,370 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 278 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental laboratory technicians in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,420 to $65,990; 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 $41,045, on $48,370 for work ranking 278 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 278 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $46,592 — the adjusted value of that $48,370 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 278 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 $52,040, 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 $39,420 and the top tenth $65,990, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $46,592 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $41,045 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?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $52,040. 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 ($39,420 to $65,990) 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 $46,592 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 $41,045 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.