Pharmacy Technicians in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,278
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,892
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,585
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
$46,170
Kept after tax
$39,278
Worth in national money
$44,585
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Dakota pays pharmacy technicians around $46,170 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against other work in South Dakota, this sits in the middle: 312 of 457 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,170 the take-home is $39,278; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,585 would nationally. The average lands at $45,750, below the middle of the range.
- For pharmacy technicians the South Dakota median is $46,170, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Pharmacy technicians ranks 312 of 457 occupations in South Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for pharmacy technicians in South Dakota, on $46,170, is $39,278 — equivalent to $44,585 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 $45,750 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Pharmacy Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,800 |
| This salary | $46,170 |
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 | $39,278 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,278 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,166 |
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 | $46,170 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,038 |
| 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 pharmacy technicians in South Dakota earn under $46,170 and half over. The published range runs $37,220 at the tenth percentile to $56,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $39,278 take-home in South Dakota comes from $46,170. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 312 of 457.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,585, the adjusted value of that $46,170 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 312 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacy technicians in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,220 to $56,800; 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.
- Retained pay of $39,278, from $46,170, assumes a single South Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 312 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $44,585 — the adjusted value of that $46,170 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 312 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,220 at the bottom tenth to $56,800 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 $44,585 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $39,278 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,220 to $56,800) 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 $44,585 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 $39,278 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.