Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,988
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,822
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,257
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
$45,810
Kept after tax
$38,988
Worth in national money
$44,257
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Dakota pays this job around $45,810 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 317.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,810 the take-home is $38,988; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,257 would nationally. The average comes to $46,240, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For medical secretaries and administrative assistants the South Dakota median is $45,810, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, medical secretaries and administrative assistants sits at 317 of 457 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for medical secretaries and administrative assistants in South Dakota, on $45,810, is $38,988 — equivalent to $44,257 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 $46,240 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,120 |
| This salary | $45,810 |
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 | $38,988 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,988 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,135 |
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 | $45,810 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,001 |
| 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 secretaries and administrative assistants in South Dakota earn under $45,810 and half over. The published range runs $39,270 at the tenth percentile to $53,120 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 $38,988, worked from $45,810. 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 317 of 457.
- Two cautions on $44,257, the adjusted value of that $45,810 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 317 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical secretaries and administrative assistants in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,270 to $53,120; 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 $38,988, on $45,810 for work ranking 317 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 317 of 457 in the state.
- This $44,257 adjusted figure, worked from $45,810, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 317 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 317 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,270 at the tenth percentile, $53,120 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 $44,257 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $38,988 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,270 to $53,120) 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 $44,257 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 $38,988 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.