Slaughterers and Meat Packers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,863
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,547
14.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,980
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
$44,410
Kept after tax
$37,863
Worth in national money
$42,980
State rank
14
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for slaughterers and meat packers is strong here. South Dakota's middle earner gets $44,410, putting the state 14 of 47 — about 10.67% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 341.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,410 you keep $37,863, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,980 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $43,070, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For slaughterers and meat packers, South Dakota sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,410, ranking 14 of 47 and running about 10.67% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, slaughterers and meat packers sits at 341 of 457 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for slaughterers and meat packers on $44,410 is $37,863. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,980 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 $43,070 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,080 |
| This salary | $44,410 |
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 | $37,863 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,863 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,016 |
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 | $44,410 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,857 |
| 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 slaughterers and meat packers in South Dakota earn under $44,410 and half over. The published range runs $34,950 at the tenth percentile to $48,080 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 $37,863, worked from $44,410. 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 341 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 $42,980, the adjusted value of that $44,410 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 341 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for slaughterers and meat packers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,950 to $48,080; 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 $37,863, on $44,410 for work ranking 341 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 341 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $42,980 — the adjusted value of that $44,410 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 341 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 $43,070, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,950 at the bottom tenth to $48,080 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 $42,980 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $37,863 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.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 $43,070. 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 ($34,950 to $48,080) 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 $42,980 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 $37,863 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.