Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,619
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,221
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,109
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
$47,840
Kept after tax
$40,619
Worth in national money
$46,109
State rank
35
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in South Dakota. The middle earner gets $47,840. That is 35 of 48 states, and about 13.03% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 290.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,840 the take-home is $40,619; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,109 would nationally. The average comes to $55,200, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $47,840, ranking 35 of 48 and trailing the national median by about 13.03%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers sits at 290 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 morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in South Dakota, on $47,840, is $40,619 — equivalent to $46,109 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 $55,200 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,940 |
| This salary | $47,840 |
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 | $40,619 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,619 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,308 |
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 | $47,840 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,211 |
| 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 $47,840. The published range is $43,780 up to $78,940, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $40,619, from $47,840, 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 290 of 457 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,109 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 290.
- Reported values are medians; for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $43,780 to $78,940. 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 $40,619 from $47,840. 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 290 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,109, worked from $47,840, 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 290 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 $55,200, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $43,780 at the bottom tenth to $78,940 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $46,109 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $40,619 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 48 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 $55,200. 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 ($43,780) and the ninetieth ($78,940) 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 $46,109 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 $40,619 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.