Public Relations Specialists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$54,022
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$10,498
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,322
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
$64,520
Kept after tax
$54,022
Worth in national money
$61,322
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Dakota is 34 of 51 states for public relations specialists, with a middle wage of $64,520. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 151.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $64,520 you keep $54,022 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $61,322 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $71,890, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota ranks 34 of 51 for public relations specialists at $64,520. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, public relations specialists sits at 151 of 457 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $54,022 after the full tax stack, from $64,520. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $61,322 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $71,890 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Public Relations Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,480 |
| This salary | $64,520 |
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 | $54,022 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,022 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,730 |
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 | $64,520 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,633 |
| 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 $64,520. The published range is $48,460 up to $102,480, 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 $54,022, worked from $64,520. 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 151 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,322 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 151.
- Reported values are medians; for public relations specialists in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,460 to $102,480. 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 $54,022, on $64,520 for work ranking 151 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 151 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,322, worked from $64,520, 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 151 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 $71,890, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $48,460 at the bottom tenth to $102,480 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $61,322.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $54,022 of this wage reaches your account, because South Dakota takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $71,890. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,460) and the ninetieth ($102,480) 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 $61,322 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 $54,022 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.