Retail Salespersons in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,796
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$4,574
13.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,823
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
$34,370
Kept after tax
$29,796
Worth in national money
$33,823
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for retail salespersons. The median is $34,370, ranking 26 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: 425 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $34,370 the take-home is $29,796; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,823 would nationally. The average comes to $39,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for retail salespersons: a median of $34,370, ranking 26 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.
- Retail salespersons occupies position 425 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.
- Post-tax income for retail salespersons in South Dakota, on $34,370, is $29,796 — equivalent to $33,823 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $39,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Retail Salespersons
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,720 |
| This salary | $34,370 |
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 | $29,796 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,796 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,160 |
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 | $34,370 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,822 |
| 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 $34,370. The published range is $28,190 up to $61,720, 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 $29,796, worked from $34,370. 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 425 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 $33,823, the adjusted value of that $34,370 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 425 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for retail salespersons in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,190 to $61,720. 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 $29,796, on $34,370 for work ranking 425 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 425 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $33,823 — the adjusted value of that $34,370 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 425 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $39,720 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $28,190 and the top tenth $61,720 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $33,823.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $29,796 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?
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 $39,720. 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 ($28,190) and the ninetieth ($61,720) 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 $33,823 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 $29,796 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.