Medical Transcriptionists in South Dakota

A stethoscope and folded scrubs in a sunlit clinical workspace.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$39,197

after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax

Tax takes

$6,873

14.9% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$44,494

South Dakota costs less than average

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

$46,070

Kept after tax

$39,197

Worth in national money

$44,494

State rank

8

of 50 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • South Dakota is one of the better-paying states for medical transcriptionists. The middle earner takes $46,070, which ranks 8 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 14.01% above the national middle.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 313.
  • South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,070 the take-home is $39,197; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,494 would nationally. The average comes to $46,740, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
  • South Dakota ranks 8 of 50 states publishing a median for medical transcriptionists, at $46,070 — about 14.01% 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.
  • In South Dakota's occupational distribution, medical transcriptionists sits at 313 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 transcriptionists in South Dakota, on $46,070, is $39,197 — equivalent to $44,494 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 $46,740 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.

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Pay band: Medical Transcriptionists

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$36,160
Half earn under$46,070
Top tenth earn over$59,870
This salary$46,070

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

Compare with
$0take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in South Dakota$39,197
Take-home in Texas$39,197
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$4,158

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

Moving to
$0$51,098
$51,098in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$46,070
Raise you would need+$5,028
Prices in Texas97 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 $46,070. The published range is $36,160 up to $59,870, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
  • That $39,197 take-home in South Dakota comes from $46,070. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 313 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 $44,494, the adjusted value of that $46,070 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 313 of 457 in the state.
  • Reported values are medians; for medical transcriptionists in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,160 to $59,870. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • Retained pay of $39,197, from $46,070, assumes a single South Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 313 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 50 for it.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $44,494 — the adjusted value of that $46,070 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 313 of 457 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,160 at the tenth percentile, $59,870 at the ninetieth.

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 $44,494.

Is most of this wage taxed away?

Most of it arrives. $39,197 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?

A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 ($36,160 to $59,870) 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 $44,494 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 $39,197 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.