Occupational Health and Safety Specialists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,167
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$17,443
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,785
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
$88,610
Kept after tax
$71,167
Worth in national money
$80,785
State rank
27
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 $88,610, ranking 27 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 58 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $88,610 you keep $71,167, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $80,785 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $87,900, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for occupational health and safety specialists: a median of $88,610, ranking 27 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.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, occupational health and safety specialists sits 58 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for occupational health and safety specialists on $88,610 is $71,167. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $80,785 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $87,900 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,840 |
| This salary | $88,610 |
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 | $71,167 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $71,167 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$7,548 |
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 | $88,610 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$10,427 |
| 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 occupational health and safety specialists in South Dakota earn under $88,610 and half over. The published range runs $48,590 at the tenth percentile to $121,840 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $71,167, from $88,610, 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 58 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 $80,785 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 58.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational health and safety specialists in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,590 to $121,840; 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.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $71,167 from $88,610. 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 58 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $80,785, worked from $88,610, 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 58 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $48,590 and the top tenth $121,840 — 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 $80,785.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $71,167 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?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,590) and the ninetieth ($121,840) 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 $80,785 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 $71,167 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.