Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,713
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,287
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,134
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
$38,000
Kept after tax
$32,713
Worth in national money
$37,134
State rank
20
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $38,000, ranking 20 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 397 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,000 the take-home is $32,713; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,134 would nationally. The average comes to $41,300, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals: a median of $38,000, ranking 20 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals occupies position 397 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.
- Post-tax income for farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals in South Dakota, on $38,000, is $32,713 — equivalent to $37,134 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 $41,300 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,260 |
| This salary | $38,000 |
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 | $32,713 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,713 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,470 |
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 | $38,000 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,196 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,000 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,260 and the ninetieth is $51,260 — 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 $32,713, worked from $38,000. 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 397 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,134 uses one figure for the whole of South Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 457 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 397.
- The South Dakota median of $38,000 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,260 to $51,260. 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 $32,713, on $38,000 for work ranking 397 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 397 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,134, worked from $38,000, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Dakota address, on work sitting at 397 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,300, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $32,260 at the tenth percentile, $51,260 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,134 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $32,713 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 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 $41,300. 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 ($32,260 to $51,260) 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 $37,134 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 $32,713 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.