How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in South Dakota?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $90,590 for Mechanical Engineers 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 $76,800 and the 75th-percentile is $116,600.

How are South Dakota Mechanical Engineer 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.

Is South Dakota a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $90,590 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $102,769. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer 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.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in South Dakota?

MS-ME in South Dakota adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

South Dakota Mechanical Engineer Salary: BLS $91K Median, Real $103K (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports South Dakota Mechanical Engineer median pay at $90,590. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $102,769.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $12,179 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $70,510 · P25 $76,800 · P75 $116,600 · P90 $128,810.
State ranks #47 nationally on nominal wage, #29 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — South Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$70,510	$79,990
P25 (lower quartile)	$76,800	$87,125
P50 (median)	$90,590	$102,769
P75 (upper quartile)	$116,600	$132,276
P90 (top tier)	$128,810	$146,128
Mean	$96,180	$109,111
Employment	680 Mechanical Engineers 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 (Mechanical Engineer)	$90,590	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,177	12.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,930	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$72,483	80.0% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$82,228	÷ (88.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Dakota state-tax burden means for Mechanical Engineer take-home

South Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,530 a year for a Mechanical Engineer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $82,228 — 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 $102,320 for Mechanical Engineers with mean pay of $110,080 and total employment of 286,760. South Dakota sits at #47 on nominal pay and #29 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Dakota climbs 18 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in South Dakota?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $90,590 for Mechanical Engineers 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 $76,800 and the 75th-percentile is $116,600.
How are South Dakota Mechanical Engineer 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.
Is South Dakota a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.1 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $90,590 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $102,769. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer 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.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in South Dakota?: MS-ME in South Dakota adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 17-2141, 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 Mechanical Engineer 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.