Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,998
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,802
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,808
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
$50,800
Kept after tax
$42,998
Worth in national money
$48,808
State rank
26
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $50,800, ranking 26 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 245 among 457 occupations South Dakota publishes pay for.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $50,800 you keep $42,998, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $48,808 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $50,680, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for structural metal fabricators and fitters: a median of $50,800, ranking 26 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 245 of 457 in South Dakota places structural metal fabricators and fitters 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 structural metal fabricators and fitters on $50,800 is $42,998. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $48,808 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 $50,680 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,530 |
| This salary | $50,800 |
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 | $42,998 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,998 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,561 |
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 | $50,800 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,516 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,800 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,280 and the ninetieth is $61,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $42,998, from $50,800, 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 245 of 457 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Dakota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $48,808, the adjusted value of that $50,800 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 245 of 457 in the state.
- The South Dakota median of $50,800 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,280 to $61,530. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,998 from $50,800. 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 245 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $48,808 — the adjusted value of that $50,800 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 245 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,280 at the bottom tenth to $61,530 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $48,808.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $42,998 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,280 to $61,530) 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 $48,808 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 $42,998 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.