Tool and Die Makers in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,205
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$9,565
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,990
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
$59,770
Kept after tax
$50,205
Worth in national money
$56,990
State rank
35
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Dakota pays tool and die makers a middle wage of $59,770, 35 of 45 states and about 6.68% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 457 occupations South Dakota reports figures for, this is number 188.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,770 you keep $50,205 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $56,990 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,480.
- South Dakota's $59,770 median for tool and die makers places it 35 of 45 states, about 6.68% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In South Dakota's occupational distribution, tool and die makers sits at 188 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.
- Retained pay in South Dakota is $50,205 after the full tax stack, from $59,770. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $56,990 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,480 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Tool and Die Makers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,940 |
| This salary | $59,770 |
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 | $50,205 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,205 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,325 |
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 | $59,770 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,440 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $59,770 as a midpoint for South Dakota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,830 and the ninetieth is $69,940 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $50,205 take-home in South Dakota comes from $59,770. 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 188 of 457.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,990 uses one figure for the whole of South Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 457 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 188.
- The South Dakota median of $59,770 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,830 to $69,940. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $50,205, from $59,770, 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 188 of 457 locally, and the state ranks 35 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,990, worked from $59,770, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Dakota address, on work sitting at 188 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $43,830 at the bottom tenth to $69,940 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 $56,990.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $50,205 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?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,830 to $69,940) 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 $56,990 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 $50,205 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.