How much does a Data Scientist make in South Dakota?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $92,000 for Data Scientists in South Dakota as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $78,590 and the 75th-percentile is $109,940.

How are South Dakota Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How wide is the wage spread in South Dakota?

P10 to P90 spans $62,240 to $117,880. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Data Scientist salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Dakota?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Dakota.

Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in South Dakota?

BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in South Dakota, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.

Industry vs academia data scientist pay in South Dakota?

Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

South Dakota Data Scientist Salary: BLS $92K Median, Real $104K (2026)

TL;DR

South Dakota pays Data Scientists a BLS median of $92,000 — the more useful number is $104,369, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $12,369.
Quartile range $78,590 (bottom 25%) to $109,940 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $62,240 to $117,880.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #35 of 51; nominal rank is #42.

Wage breakdown — South Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$62,240	$70,608
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,590	$89,156
P50 (median)	$92,000	$104,369
P75 (upper quartile)	$109,940	$124,721
P90 (top tier)	$117,880	$133,728
Mean	$92,460	$104,891
Employment	270 Data Scientists in South Dakota

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	South Dakota index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.1
Goods	97.4
Services	81.3
Rents	64.8

South Dakota sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 64.8.

After-tax take-home — South Dakota (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Data Scientist)	$92,000	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,487	12.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,038	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$73,475	79.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$83,353	÷ (88.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Dakota state-tax burden means for Data Scientist take-home

South Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,600 a year for a Data Scientist at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $83,353 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $112,590 for Data Scientists with mean pay of $124,590 and total employment of 233,440. South Dakota sits at #42 on nominal pay and #35 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Dakota climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Data Scientist make in South Dakota?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $92,000 for Data Scientists in South Dakota as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $78,590 and the 75th-percentile is $109,940.
How are South Dakota Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How wide is the wage spread in South Dakota?: P10 to P90 spans $62,240 to $117,880. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Data Scientist salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Dakota?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Dakota.
Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in South Dakota?: BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in South Dakota, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.
Industry vs academia data scientist pay in South Dakota?: Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-2051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how South Dakota Data Scientist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.