Registered Nurses in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,745
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$14,315
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,360
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
$78,060
Kept after tax
$63,745
Worth in national money
$72,360
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for registered nurses. The middle earner takes $78,060, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 19.98% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within South Dakota this is well-paid work. Of 457 occupations with published figures in the state, registered nurses ranks 90 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $78,060 you keep $63,745 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $72,360 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $77,140.
- South Dakota ranks 49 of 51 for registered nurses, with a median of $78,060 — about 19.98% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation South Dakota publishes a median for, registered nurses sits 90 of 457 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $63,745 after the full tax stack, from $78,060. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $72,360 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $77,140 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,220 |
| This salary | $78,060 |
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 | $63,745 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,745 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,761 |
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 | $78,060 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,339 |
| 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 $78,060. The published range is $54,040 up to $98,220, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $63,745 take-home in South Dakota comes from $78,060. 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 90 of 457.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $72,360, the adjusted value of that $78,060 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 90 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for registered nurses in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $54,040 to $98,220. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $63,745, from $78,060, 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 90 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $72,360 — the adjusted value of that $78,060 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 90 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $54,040 and the top tenth $98,220, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $72,360 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $63,745 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,040 to $98,220) 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 $72,360 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 $63,745 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.