Receptionists and Information Clerks in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,938
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,342
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,389
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
$38,280
Kept after tax
$32,938
Worth in national money
$37,389
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $38,280, ranking 18 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 394 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,280 you keep $32,938, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,389 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,420, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for receptionists and information clerks: a median of $38,280, ranking 18 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Receptionists and information clerks occupies position 394 of 457 in South Dakota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for receptionists and information clerks on $38,280 is $32,938. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,389 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $38,420 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,860 |
| This salary | $38,280 |
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 | $32,938 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,938 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,494 |
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 | $38,280 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,225 |
| 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 $38,280. The published range is $27,920 up to $47,860, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $32,938, from $38,280, 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 394 of 457 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,389 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 394.
- Reported values are medians; for receptionists and information clerks in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $27,920 to $47,860. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,938 from $38,280. 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 394 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,389, worked from $38,280, 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 394 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $27,920 at the bottom tenth to $47,860 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 $37,389 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $32,938 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,920 to $47,860) 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 $37,389 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 $32,938 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.