Pediatricians, General in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$188,178
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$69,432
27.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$213,608
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
$257,610
Kept after tax
$188,178
Worth in national money
$213,608
State rank
8
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is one of the better-paying states for pediatricians, general. The middle earner takes $257,610, which ranks 8 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 22.65% above the national middle.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, pediatricians, general ranks 2 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $257,610 you keep $188,178 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $213,608 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $288,400, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota ranks 8 of 49 states publishing a median for pediatricians, general, at $257,610 — about 22.65% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, pediatricians, general sits 2 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $188,178 after the full tax stack, from $257,610. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $213,608 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $288,400 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Pediatricians, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $212,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $257,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $385,810 |
| This salary | $257,610 |
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 | $188,178 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $188,178 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$19,959 |
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 | $257,610 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$30,254 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $257,610 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $212,910 and the ninetieth is $385,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $188,178, worked from $257,610. 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 2 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $213,608 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 2.
- The South Dakota median of $257,610 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $212,910 to $385,810. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Dakota take-home of $188,178, on $257,610 for work ranking 2 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 2 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $213,608, worked from $257,610, 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 2 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $288,400, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $212,910 at the tenth percentile, $385,810 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Dakota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $213,608 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $188,178 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. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $288,400. 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 ($212,910 to $385,810) 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 $213,608 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 $188,178 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.