Medical Equipment Preparers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,192
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,138
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,083
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
$42,330
Kept after tax
$36,192
Worth in national money
$41,083
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Dakota pays medical equipment preparers a middle wage of $42,330, 43 of 51 states and about 11.26% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within South Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 457 occupations the state publishes figures for, medical equipment preparers ranks 358. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,330 you keep $36,192, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,083 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,990, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota's $42,330 median for medical equipment preparers places it 43 of 51 states, about 11.26% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation South Dakota reports, medical equipment preparers ranks 358 of 457, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for medical equipment preparers on $42,330 is $36,192. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,083 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $42,990 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Equipment Preparers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,680 |
| This salary | $42,330 |
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 | $36,192 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,192 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,839 |
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 | $42,330 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,643 |
| 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 $42,330. The published range is $31,680 up to $54,680, 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 $36,192, worked from $42,330. 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 358 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,083 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 358.
- Reported values are medians; for medical equipment preparers in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,680 to $54,680. 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 $36,192, on $42,330 for work ranking 358 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 358 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,083, worked from $42,330, 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 358 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,680 at the tenth percentile, $54,680 at the ninetieth.
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 $41,083 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $36,192 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 ($31,680 to $54,680) 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 $41,083 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 $36,192 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.