Firefighters in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,877
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,283
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,401
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
$48,160
Kept after tax
$40,877
Worth in national money
$46,401
State rank
34
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Dakota pays firefighters a middle wage of $48,160, 34 of 50 states and about 18.76% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 282.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,160 you keep $40,877, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,401 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,180, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota's $48,160 median for firefighters places it 34 of 50 states, about 18.76% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, firefighters sits at 282 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for firefighters on $48,160 is $40,877. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,401 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 $51,180 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,420 |
| This salary | $48,160 |
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 | $40,877 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,877 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,336 |
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 | $48,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,244 |
| 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 firefighters in South Dakota earn under $48,160 and half over. The published range runs $39,240 at the tenth percentile to $61,420 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 $40,877, worked from $48,160. 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 282 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,401 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 282.
- Figures are distribution medians for firefighters in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,240 to $61,420; 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 $40,877, on $48,160 for work ranking 282 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 282 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,401, worked from $48,160, 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 282 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 $51,180, 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 — $39,240 at the tenth percentile, $61,420 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,401.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $40,877 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 50 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 $51,180. 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 ($39,240 to $61,420) 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 $46,401 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 $40,877 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.