Graphic Designers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,061
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,329
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,610
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
$48,390
Kept after tax
$41,061
Worth in national money
$46,610
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for graphic designers is on the low side in South Dakota. The middle earner gets $48,390. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 23.14% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Graphic designers ranks 276 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,390 the take-home is $41,061; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,610 would nationally. The average comes to $50,880, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For graphic designers, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $48,390, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 23.14%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 276 of 457 in South Dakota places graphic designers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for graphic designers in South Dakota, on $48,390, is $41,061 — equivalent to $46,610 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 $50,880 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,620 |
| This salary | $48,390 |
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 | $41,061 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,061 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,355 |
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 | $48,390 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,267 |
| 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 graphic designers in South Dakota earn under $48,390 and half over. The published range runs $36,290 at the tenth percentile to $66,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $41,061 take-home in South Dakota comes from $48,390. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 276 of 457.
- Two cautions on $46,610, the adjusted value of that $48,390 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 276 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for graphic designers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,290 to $66,620; 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.
- Retained pay of $41,061, from $48,390, assumes a single South Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 276 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 51 for it.
- This $46,610 adjusted figure, worked from $48,390, 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 276 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 276 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 $50,880, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,290 at the tenth percentile, $66,620 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Dakota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $46,610 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $41,061 of this wage reaches your account, because South Dakota takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $50,880. 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 ($36,290 to $66,620) 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 $46,610 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 $41,061 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.