Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,080
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$3,910
12.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,740
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
$30,990
Kept after tax
$27,080
Worth in national money
$30,740
State rank
23
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 $30,990, ranking 23 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 436 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $30,990 you keep $27,080 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $30,740 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $31,370, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers: a median of $30,990, ranking 23 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.
- Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers occupies position 436 of 457 in South Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $27,080 after the full tax stack, from $30,990. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,740 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $31,370 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,610 |
| This salary | $30,990 |
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 | $27,080 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,080 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,872 |
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 | $30,990 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,474 |
| 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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in South Dakota earn under $30,990 and half over. The published range runs $26,760 at the tenth percentile to $35,610 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $27,080, from $30,990, 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 436 of 457 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,740 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 436.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,760 to $35,610; 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 $27,080 from $30,990. 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 436 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,740, worked from $30,990, 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 436 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $26,760 at the bottom tenth to $35,610 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $30,740 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $27,080 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?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,760 to $35,610) 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 $30,740 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 $27,080 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.