Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,220
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,590
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,466
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
$54,810
Kept after tax
$46,220
Worth in national money
$52,466
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in South Dakota. The middle earner gets $54,810. That is 50 of 51 states, and about 26.19% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 214 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $54,810 you keep $46,220 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,466 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $54,290.
- For special education teachers, secondary school, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $54,810, ranking 50 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 26.19%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 214 of 457 in South Dakota places special education teachers, secondary school 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $46,220 after the full tax stack, from $54,810. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,466 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $54,290 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,020 |
| This salary | $54,810 |
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 | $46,220 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,220 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,902 |
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 | $54,810 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,929 |
| 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 special education teachers, secondary school in South Dakota earn under $54,810 and half over. The published range runs $45,610 at the tenth percentile to $63,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,220 take-home in South Dakota comes from $54,810. 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 214 of 457.
- Two cautions on $52,466, the adjusted value of that $54,810 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Dakota. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 214 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,610 to $63,020; 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.
- Retained pay of $46,220, from $54,810, 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 214 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- This $52,466 adjusted figure, worked from $54,810, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 214 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 214 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,610 at the bottom tenth to $63,020 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $52,466 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $46,220 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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 ($45,610 to $63,020) 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 $52,466 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 $46,220 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.