Prepress Technicians and Workers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,438
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,932
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,768
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
$46,370
Kept after tax
$39,438
Worth in national money
$44,768
State rank
30
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for prepress technicians and workers. The median is $46,370, ranking 30 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Prepress technicians and workers ranks 309 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $46,370 you keep $39,438 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $44,768 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $44,980.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for prepress technicians and workers: a median of $46,370, ranking 30 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 309 of 457 in South Dakota places prepress technicians and workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $39,438 after the full tax stack, from $46,370. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $44,768 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $44,980 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,590 |
| This salary | $46,370 |
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 | $39,438 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,438 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,183 |
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 | $46,370 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,059 |
| 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 prepress technicians and workers in South Dakota earn under $46,370 and half over. The published range runs $29,760 at the tenth percentile to $64,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $39,438 take-home in South Dakota comes from $46,370. 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 309 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,768 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 309.
- Figures are distribution medians for prepress technicians and workers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,760 to $64,590; 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 $39,438, from $46,370, 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 309 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,768, worked from $46,370, 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 309 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 $29,760 and the top tenth $64,590 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $44,768 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $39,438 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. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($29,760) and the ninetieth ($64,590) 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 $44,768 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 $39,438 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.