Waiters and Waitresses in South Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,473
after federal, FICA and South Dakota tax
Tax takes
$3,517
12.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,916
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
$28,990
Kept after tax
$25,473
Worth in national money
$28,916
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Dakota pays waiters and waitresses a middle wage of $28,990, 35 of 51 states and about 17.71% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within South Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 457 occupations the state publishes figures for, waiters and waitresses ranks 451. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where South Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,990 you keep $25,473, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,916 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $30,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Dakota's $28,990 median for waiters and waitresses places it 35 of 51 states, about 17.71% 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.
- Against every occupation South Dakota reports, waiters and waitresses ranks 451 of 457, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and South Dakota income tax, retained pay for waiters and waitresses on $28,990 is $25,473. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,916 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 $30,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,290 |
| This salary | $28,990 |
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 | $25,473 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,473 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,702 |
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 | $28,990 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,268 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Dakota earn less than $28,990. The published range is $27,030 up to $37,290, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Dakota's $25,473, worked from $28,990. 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 451 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 $28,916, the adjusted value of that $28,990 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 451 of 457 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for waiters and waitresses in South Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $27,030 to $37,290. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Dakota take-home of $25,473, on $28,990 for work ranking 451 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 451 of 457 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Dakota, so $28,916 — the adjusted value of that $28,990 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 451 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 $30,860, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $27,030 at the bottom tenth to $37,290 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $28,916 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $25,473 survives, because South Dakota levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 $30,860. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,030 to $37,290) 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 $28,916 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 $25,473 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.