Production Workers, All Other in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,265
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,645
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,436
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
$44,910
Kept after tax
$38,265
Worth in national money
$43,436
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Dakota pays production workers, all other a middle wage of $44,910, ranking 16 of 51 states and sitting about 11.97% above the national middle.
- Against other work in South Dakota, this sits in the middle: 331 of 457 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,910 you keep $38,265 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,436 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $46,860, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota's median for production workers, all other is $44,910, about 11.97% above the national figure and 16 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.
- Production workers, all other ranks 331 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $38,265 after the full tax stack, from $44,910. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,436 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $46,860 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Production Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,170 |
| This salary | $44,910 |
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 | $38,265 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,265 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,059 |
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 | $44,910 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,909 |
| 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 production workers, all other in South Dakota earn under $44,910 and half over. The published range runs $37,540 at the tenth percentile to $63,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $38,265, from $44,910, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 331 of 457 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,436, the adjusted value of that $44,910 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 331 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for production workers, all other in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,540 to $63,170; 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.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,265 from $44,910. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 331 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $43,436 — the adjusted value of that $44,910 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 331 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 $46,860, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,540 at the tenth percentile, $63,170 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 $43,436 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $38,265 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 $46,860. 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 ($37,540 to $63,170) 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 $43,436 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 $38,265 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.