Physical Therapists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,016
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$18,644
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,019
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
$92,660
Kept after tax
$74,016
Worth in national money
$84,019
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapists is on the low side in South Dakota. The middle earner gets $92,660. That is 49 of 51 states, and about 9.83% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 457 occupations South Dakota reports, physical therapists comes in at 52 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $92,660 you keep $74,016 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $84,019 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $93,200, since top earners drag the number up.
- For physical therapists, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $92,660, ranking 49 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 9.83%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Physical therapists ranks 52 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $74,016 after the full tax stack, from $92,660. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $84,019 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $93,200 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $107,870 |
| This salary | $92,660 |
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 | $74,016 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,016 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$7,851 |
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 | $92,660 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$10,844 |
| 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 $92,660. The published range is $77,890 up to $107,870, 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 $74,016, worked from $92,660. 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 52 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $84,019 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 52.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapists in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $77,890 to $107,870. 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 $74,016, on $92,660 for work ranking 52 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 52 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $84,019, worked from $92,660, 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 52 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $77,890 at the tenth percentile, $107,870 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 $84,019 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $74,016 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?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($77,890 to $107,870) 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 $84,019 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 $74,016 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.