Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$55,775
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$10,955
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$63,312
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
$66,730
Kept after tax
$55,775
Worth in national money
$63,312
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $66,730, ranking 21 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 136.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $66,730 you keep $55,775 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $63,312 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $69,470, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines: a median of $66,730, ranking 21 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines sits at 136 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $55,775 after the full tax stack, from $66,730. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $63,312 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $69,470 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,260 |
| This salary | $66,730 |
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 | $55,775 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,775 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,916 |
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 | $66,730 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,172 |
| 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 $66,730. The published range is $54,080 up to $83,260, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $55,775, from $66,730, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 136 of 457 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $63,312, the adjusted value of that $66,730 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 136 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $54,080 to $83,260. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $55,775 from $66,730. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 136 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $63,312 — the adjusted value of that $66,730 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 136 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $69,470, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $54,080 at the bottom tenth to $83,260 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $63,312 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $55,775 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $69,470. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,080 to $83,260) 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 $63,312 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 $55,775 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.