Technical Writers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,082
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$10,268
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,255
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
$63,350
Kept after tax
$53,082
Worth in national money
$60,255
State rank
44
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Dakota is among the lower-paying states for technical writers. The middle earner takes $63,350, ranking 44 of 45 states — about 29.91% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 159.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,350 you keep $53,082, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $60,255 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $65,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota ranks 44 of 45 for technical writers, with a median of $63,350 — about 29.91% 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.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, technical writers sits at 159 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 technical writers on $63,350 is $53,082. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $60,255 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 $65,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,350 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,090 |
| This salary | $63,350 |
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 | $53,082 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,082 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,630 |
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 | $63,350 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,329 |
| 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 technical writers in South Dakota earn under $63,350 and half over. The published range runs $49,490 at the tenth percentile to $84,090 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $53,082, from $63,350, 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 159 of 457 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $60,255, the adjusted value of that $63,350 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 159 of 457 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for technical writers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,490 to $84,090; 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.
- Take-home for South Dakota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $53,082 from $63,350. 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 159 of 457 locally.
- This $60,255 adjusted figure, worked from $63,350, 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 159 of 457 in the state. The occupation ranks 159 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,490 and the top tenth $84,090, so most people doing this work in South Dakota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $60,255 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $53,082 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($49,490 to $84,090) 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 $60,255 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 $53,082 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.