Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,736
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$15,154
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,620
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
$80,890
Kept after tax
$65,736
Worth in national money
$74,620
State rank
37
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $80,890, ranking 37 of 46 states — about 21.78% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 77 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $80,890 you keep $65,736 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $74,620 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $83,870, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota ranks 37 of 46 for medical scientists, except epidemiologists, with a median of $80,890 — about 21.78% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, medical scientists, except epidemiologists sits 77 of 457 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $65,736 after the full tax stack, from $80,890. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $74,620 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $83,870 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,120 |
| This salary | $80,890 |
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 | $65,736 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,736 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,972 |
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 | $80,890 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,631 |
| 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 medical scientists, except epidemiologists in South Dakota earn under $80,890 and half over. The published range runs $59,470 at the tenth percentile to $127,120 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 $65,736, worked from $80,890. 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 77 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 $74,620, the adjusted value of that $80,890 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 77 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical scientists, except epidemiologists in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $59,470 to $127,120; 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 $65,736, on $80,890 for work ranking 77 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 77 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $74,620 — the adjusted value of that $80,890 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 77 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $83,870, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $59,470 and the top tenth $127,120 — 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 $74,620.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $65,736 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $83,870. 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 ($59,470) and the ninetieth ($127,120) 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 $74,620 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 $65,736 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.