Surgical Technologists in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,286
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,584
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,081
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
$59,870
Kept after tax
$50,286
Worth in national money
$57,081
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for surgical technologists. The middle earner takes $59,870, ranking 44 of 51 states — about 7.39% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in South Dakota, this sits in the middle: 186 of 457 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,870 you keep $50,286 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $57,081 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,390.
- South Dakota ranks 44 of 51 for surgical technologists, with a median of $59,870 — about 7.39% 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.
- Surgical technologists ranks 186 of 457 occupations in South Dakota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $50,286 after the full tax stack, from $59,870. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,081 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,390 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,470 |
| This salary | $59,870 |
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 | $50,286 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,286 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,334 |
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 | $59,870 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,450 |
| 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 surgical technologists in South Dakota earn under $59,870 and half over. The published range runs $38,450 at the tenth percentile to $75,470 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,286 take-home in South Dakota comes from $59,870. 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 186 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 $57,081, the adjusted value of that $59,870 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 186 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for surgical technologists in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,450 to $75,470; 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 $50,286, from $59,870, 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 186 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $57,081 — the adjusted value of that $59,870 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 186 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,450 at the tenth percentile, $75,470 at the ninetieth.
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 $57,081 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $50,286 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?
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,450 to $75,470) 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 $57,081 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 $50,286 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.