Respiratory Therapists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,837
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$11,403
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,518
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
$68,240
Kept after tax
$56,837
Worth in national money
$64,518
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for respiratory therapists. The middle earner takes $68,240, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 17.06% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Respiratory therapists ranks 125 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $68,240 you keep $56,837, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $64,518 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $68,910, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota ranks 49 of 51 for respiratory therapists, with a median of $68,240 — about 17.06% 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.
- Position 125 of 457 in South Dakota places respiratory therapists 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for respiratory therapists on $68,240 is $56,837. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $64,518 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 $68,910 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Respiratory Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $68,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,830 |
| This salary | $68,240 |
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 | $56,837 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $56,837 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,029 |
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 | $68,240 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,327 |
| 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 $68,240. The published range is $48,530 up to $88,830, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $56,837, from $68,240, 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 125 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 $64,518 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 125.
- Reported values are medians; for respiratory therapists in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,530 to $88,830. 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 $56,837 from $68,240. 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 125 of 457 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,518, worked from $68,240, 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 125 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,530 at the tenth percentile, $88,830 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 $64,518 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $56,837 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?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,530 to $88,830) 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 $64,518 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 $56,837 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.