Insurance Sales Agents in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,475
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$12,515
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,512
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
$71,990
Kept after tax
$59,475
Worth in national money
$67,512
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Dakota pays insurance sales agents a middle wage of $71,990, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 15.59% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 118.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $71,990 the take-home is $59,475; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $67,512 would nationally. The average comes to $82,200, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota's median for insurance sales agents is $71,990, about 15.59% above the national figure and 12 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, insurance sales agents sits at 118 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 insurance sales agents in South Dakota, on $71,990, is $59,475 — equivalent to $67,512 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 $82,200 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Insurance Sales Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,540 |
| This salary | $71,990 |
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 | $59,475 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,475 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,308 |
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 | $71,990 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,714 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Dakota earn less than $71,990. The published range is $49,090 up to $131,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $59,475 take-home in South Dakota comes from $71,990. 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 118 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $67,512 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 118.
- Reported values are medians; for insurance sales agents in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,090 to $131,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $59,475, from $71,990, 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 118 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,512, worked from $71,990, 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 118 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $82,200 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $49,090 at the bottom tenth to $131,540 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $67,512 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $59,475 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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 $82,200. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($49,090) and the ninetieth ($131,540) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $67,512 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 $59,475 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.