Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,191
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$5,649
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,812
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
$39,840
Kept after tax
$34,191
Worth in national money
$38,812
State rank
27
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $39,840, ranking 27 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Dakota, this one sits low: 377 of 457 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Dakota is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $39,840 the take-home is $34,191; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $38,812 would nationally. The average comes to $42,710, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Dakota occupies the middle band for teaching assistants, postsecondary: a median of $39,840, ranking 27 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Teaching assistants, postsecondary occupies position 377 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.
- Post-tax income for teaching assistants, postsecondary in South Dakota, on $39,840, is $34,191 — equivalent to $38,812 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $42,710 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,130 |
| This salary | $39,840 |
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 | $34,191 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,191 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,627 |
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 | $39,840 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,386 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $39,840 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $27,620 and the ninetieth is $65,130 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $34,191, from $39,840, 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 377 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 $38,812, the adjusted value of that $39,840 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 377 of 457 in the state.
- The South Dakota median of $39,840 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $27,620 to $65,130. 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 $34,191 from $39,840. 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 377 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $38,812 — the adjusted value of that $39,840 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 377 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 $42,710, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $27,620 at the bottom tenth to $65,130 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $38,812 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $34,191 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 $42,710. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($27,620) and the ninetieth ($65,130) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $38,812 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 $34,191 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.