Transportation Security Screeners in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,798
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$8,732
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,123
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
$55,530
Kept after tax
$46,798
Worth in national money
$53,123
State rank
42
of 45 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 $55,530. That is 42 of 45 states, and about 16.83% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in South Dakota, this sits in the middle: 212 of 457 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,530 you keep $46,798, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,123 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $56,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For transportation security screeners, South Dakota sits in the lower band at $55,530, ranking 42 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 16.83%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Transportation security screeners ranks 212 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for transportation security screeners on $55,530 is $46,798. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,123 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 $56,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Transportation Security Screeners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,240 |
| This salary | $55,530 |
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 | $46,798 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,798 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,964 |
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 | $55,530 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,003 |
| 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 transportation security screeners in South Dakota earn under $55,530 and half over. The published range runs $45,640 at the tenth percentile to $69,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $46,798, worked from $55,530. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 212 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 $53,123, the adjusted value of that $55,530 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 212 of 457 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for transportation security screeners in South Dakota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,640 to $69,240; 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.
- The South Dakota take-home of $46,798, on $55,530 for work ranking 212 of 457 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 212 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $53,123 — the adjusted value of that $55,530 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 212 of 457 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,640 at the bottom tenth to $69,240 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 $53,123.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $46,798 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,640 to $69,240) 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 $53,123 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 $46,798 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.