Interpreters and Translators in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,878
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,262
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,943
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
$53,140
Kept after tax
$44,878
Worth in national money
$50,943
State rank
28
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for interpreters and translators. The median is $53,140, ranking 28 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Interpreters and translators ranks 222 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $53,140 the take-home is $44,878; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $50,943 would nationally. The average comes to $56,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for interpreters and translators: a median of $53,140, ranking 28 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 222 of 457 in South Dakota places interpreters and translators 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 interpreters and translators in South Dakota, on $53,140, is $44,878 — equivalent to $50,943 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 $56,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Interpreters and Translators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,320 |
| This salary | $53,140 |
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 | $44,878 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,878 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,760 |
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 | $53,140 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,757 |
| 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 $53,140. The published range is $36,730 up to $75,320, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $44,878, worked from $53,140. 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 222 of 457.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,943, the adjusted value of that $53,140 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 222 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for interpreters and translators in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,730 to $75,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Dakota take-home of $44,878, on $53,140 for work ranking 222 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 222 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $50,943 — the adjusted value of that $53,140 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 222 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 $56,360, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,730 and the top tenth $75,320 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $50,943.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $44,878 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.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 $56,360. 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 ($36,730) and the ninetieth ($75,320) 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 $50,943 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 $44,878 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.