Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,352
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,688
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,994
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
$40,040
Kept after tax
$34,352
Worth in national money
$38,994
State rank
45
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $40,040, ranking 45 of 49 states — about 19.73% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 376 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $40,040 you keep $34,352 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,994 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $45,040, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Dakota ranks 45 of 49 for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, with a median of $40,040 — about 19.73% 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.
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners occupies position 376 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $34,352 after the full tax stack, from $40,040. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,994 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $45,040 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,300 |
| This salary | $40,040 |
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 | $34,352 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,352 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,644 |
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 | $40,040 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,407 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in South Dakota earn under $40,040 and half over. The published range runs $36,810 at the tenth percentile to $57,300 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $34,352, worked from $40,040. 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 376 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,994 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 376.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,810 to $57,300; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The South Dakota take-home of $34,352, on $40,040 for work ranking 376 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 376 of 457 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,994, worked from $40,040, 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 376 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 $45,040, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,810 at the tenth percentile, $57,300 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 $38,994 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $34,352 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $45,040. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,810 to $57,300) 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 $38,994 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 $34,352 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.