Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,001
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$7,559
15.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,677
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
$49,560
Kept after tax
$42,001
Worth in national money
$47,677
State rank
48
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 $49,560. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 33.32% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 259.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,560 you keep $42,001, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $47,677 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $53,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For telecommunications line installers and repairers, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $49,560, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 33.32%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, telecommunications line installers and repairers sits at 259 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 telecommunications line installers and repairers on $49,560 is $42,001. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $47,677 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 $53,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,800 |
| This salary | $49,560 |
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 | $42,001 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,001 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,455 |
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 | $49,560 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,388 |
| 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 telecommunications line installers and repairers in South Dakota earn under $49,560 and half over. The published range runs $35,370 at the tenth percentile to $74,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Dakota the take-home figure of $42,001, from $49,560, 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 259 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 $47,677, the adjusted value of that $49,560 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 259 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for telecommunications line installers and repairers in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,370 to $74,800; 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 $42,001 from $49,560. 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 259 of 457 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $47,677 — the adjusted value of that $49,560 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 259 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $53,090, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,370 at the bottom tenth to $74,800 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 $47,677 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $42,001 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.
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 $53,090. 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 ($35,370) and the ninetieth ($74,800) 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 $47,677 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 $42,001 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.