Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,507
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,883
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,467
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
$61,390
Kept after tax
$51,507
Worth in national money
$58,467
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $61,390, ranking 24 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 174.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $61,390 you keep $51,507 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $58,467 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $61,100.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers: a median of $61,390, ranking 24 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers sits at 174 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $51,507 after the full tax stack, from $61,390. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $58,467 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $61,100 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,190 |
| This salary | $61,390 |
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 | $51,507 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,507 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,463 |
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 | $61,390 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,820 |
| 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 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers in South Dakota earn under $61,390 and half over. The published range runs $48,420 at the tenth percentile to $75,190 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $51,507, from $61,390, 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 174 of 457 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $58,467, the adjusted value of that $61,390 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 174 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,420 to $75,190; 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 $51,507 from $61,390. 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 174 of 457 locally.
- This $58,467 adjusted figure, worked from $61,390, 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 174 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 174 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,420 at the bottom tenth to $75,190 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $58,467.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $51,507 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?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,420 to $75,190) 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 $58,467 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 $51,507 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.