Manicurists and Pedicurists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,587
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,723
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,801
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
$45,310
Kept after tax
$38,587
Worth in national money
$43,801
State rank
9
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is one of the better-paying states for manicurists and pedicurists. The middle earner takes $45,310, which ranks 9 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 26.71% above the national middle.
- Against other work in South Dakota, this sits in the middle: 323 of 457 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $45,310 you keep $38,587 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,801 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $44,720.
- South Dakota ranks 9 of 49 states publishing a median for manicurists and pedicurists, at $45,310 — about 26.71% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Manicurists and pedicurists ranks 323 of 457 occupations in South Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $38,587 after the full tax stack, from $45,310. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,801 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $44,720 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Manicurists and Pedicurists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,850 |
| This salary | $45,310 |
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 | $38,587 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,587 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,093 |
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 | $45,310 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,950 |
| 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 manicurists and pedicurists in South Dakota earn under $45,310 and half over. The published range runs $34,280 at the tenth percentile to $54,850 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $38,587, worked from $45,310. 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 323 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,801 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 323.
- Figures are distribution medians for manicurists and pedicurists in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,280 to $54,850; 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.
- The South Dakota take-home of $38,587, on $45,310 for work ranking 323 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 323 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,801, worked from $45,310, 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 323 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,280 and the top tenth $54,850, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $43,801 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $38,587 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?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,280 to $54,850) 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 $43,801 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 $38,587 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.