Pharmacists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$111,597
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$35,193
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$126,678
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
$146,790
Kept after tax
$111,597
Worth in national money
$126,678
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Dakota pays pharmacists a middle wage of $146,790, ranking 13 of 51 states and sitting about 4.17% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 457 occupations South Dakota reports, pharmacists comes in at 11 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $146,790 you keep $111,597, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $126,678 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $142,330, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Dakota's median for pharmacists is $146,790, about 4.17% above the national figure and 13 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Pharmacists ranks 11 of 457 occupations by median in South Dakota, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for pharmacists on $146,790 is $111,597. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $126,678 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 $142,330 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $112,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $146,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $166,340 |
| This salary | $146,790 |
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 | $111,597 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $111,597 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$11,837 |
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 | $146,790 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$16,829 |
| 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 $146,790. The published range is $112,200 up to $166,340, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $111,597, worked from $146,790. 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 11 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $126,678 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 11.
- Reported values are medians; for pharmacists in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $112,200 to $166,340. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Dakota take-home of $111,597, on $146,790 for work ranking 11 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 11 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $126,678, worked from $146,790, 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 11 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 $142,330, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $112,200 and the top tenth $166,340, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $126,678 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $111,597 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.
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 $142,330. 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 ($112,200 to $166,340) 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 $126,678 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 $111,597 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.